Political Science Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5

Political Science - Essay Example When a particular state is composed of a single nation or people with common identity, we call it a nation-state† (Viotti 464). However, the dynamics of nationalism may be a little complex and tricky where more than one groups, may be on the basis of religion, race etc, exist and interacts to formulate the national interest of the state. This may result in sort of interest clashes if not dealt tactfully at state level. Ethnic and racial groups are conservative and traditionalist in their loyalty and allegiance towards their religion and race. These groups possess their own specific and rigid identities and like to maintain themselves as unit while sticking firm to these identities. The unity on the basis of religious or racial grouping gives birth to the problem of contentious autonomy within the state. The intricacies are purely the subject of politics and have to be address with political will while safeguarding the interest of state. The unity and identity on the basis of religion and race is a challenging issue for the state level unity and identity as a nation-state. People tend to retain their religious and racial identity while â€Å"Nationality involves a significant degree of self-definition and refers to a people with sense of common identity, if not destiny† (Viotti 464). Nationality demands subjugation of religious and ethnic interests by the sovereignty, integrity and solidarity of the state. If the group level identities and interests are dominated and governed by the state interests, the concept of nation-state persists and flourishes otherwise it spoils and destroys. Nationalism manifest itself in several different colors and shapes but one major attribute of the nationalism is its conformity to the history and myth. Every state despite existence of multicultural religious and racial groups and unities share some common exhibits of historical and mythical events which promote nationalism. Among these

Studying the Bible in context Essay Example for Free

Studying the Bible in context Essay 1, a. In helping readers to understand the various meanings of passages in the scripture, and for purposes of categorizing the bible literature in various narratives, the bible authors have develop various techniques which include the use of exegesis, which is essentially a systematic process that is used by an author in order to arrive at a coherent and reasonable meaning of a certain passage in the bible. This technique helps a reader to know the historic setting and the original meaning that the passage gave to the original recipients of the message. The rhetorical and progression devices have also been applied. In a rhetoric device, the author puts a lot of emphasis on a point that a leader is intended to grasp, while the progression device creates a story by developing events from the background to the climax of the story. All these are meant to helps readers to understand the context clearly. The paradox technique has been applied where two contradictory statements are used for instance, when Jesus stated that whoever wants to save their life must lose it. These and many other techniques have been applied to help understand and categorize bible literature as well as making the bile interesting to read. In the interpretation of bible narratives, it is important to be cautious by ensuring that an alert and careful reading of the text is done to avoid misinterpretation. A reader is supposed to visualize the whole story, and look for the literal meaning of words in order to attain the correct meaning. 1, b. Genesis chapter 17 talks about the appearance of God to Abraham when he was 99 years old. It was at this time when God renewed his covenant with Abraham and made renewed his promises to him including the promise of a son and that Abraham would become a father of a great nation. God also that, Abraham and all his descendants must be circumcised. From a theological perspective, (2006) stated that, the appearance of God this time was in the person of Christ Jesus. Where God told Abraham that he was â€Å"the Almighty,† this was meant to portray the real character and nature of God, by the use of the name Elshadai. Various scholars have however given different meanings to the name Shadily including an all-sufficient God, abundantly, one who pours out blessings, one who is rich among other meanings. By God asking that Abraham appear before him blameless, it shows how God would want the people to appear before him wholly and with total commitment. God appeared to reaffirm the covenant he had made with Abraham close to 25 years ago, and proved that he was faithful to whatever promises he makes to the human nature. God made a change of names for both Abraham and Sara as a way of encouraging their faith and to show that he would indeed make a father and a mother of a great nation. Abraham was in turn supposed to get circumcised and to circumcise all his descendants, this portrays the need for Christians to make sacrifices and to keep holy if they are to realize the promises of God. 1, c. Theologians have argued that, just like other historical books, the book of Acts is predominantly descriptive other than normative. The argument is that most of the events that have been explained in the book of Acts may not necessarily take place today and that some of the things which happened to people during the time of writing the book of Act, may not happen today. Acts 5 explains the story of Sapphira and Ananias and how they were struck down to death because of lying to God, this however does not mean that if Christian lie to God today the same punishment will be applicable to them. If Acts would be viewed as normative, does it mean that Christians should take the example of Acts 8: 16? which stated that leaders were then elected by way of ballots, the statement is therefore better viewed in the descriptive manner other than in the normative form. Acts 28: 36 talks about the early Pentecostals who were snake handlers, if Christians were to view this statement as normative, it would therefore mean that such snake handling actions are justified. Theologians have approached the book of Acts from the literal meaning, they have interpreted word to word, and passage to passage, and have then applied the teachings to the modern time in order to determine whether the book should be viewed as normative or descriptive. The literal approach is good as it helps leaders to first understand the meaning of a passage in the scripture and then look at the applicability of the context in the present time. 2, a. Theologians have stated that, the gospels are to be accepted as the reliable historical source that explains about the birth and life of Jesus Christ. The gospels consist of four books in the new testament which are Luke, Matthew, John and Mark. The gospels are also referred to as the good news books, they talk about the birth and life of Jesus. The scholars of the new testament have agreed that, the gospels cannot be said to be biographies, because they are not presented in a way that a biography is set in the modern time, theologians have also stated that, the gospels only focus a little on any issues that are of significance to the theological studies. It is therefore proper to take the gospels as history. 2, b. Parables are interpreted as the allegories. Theologians have stated that, there is need to search into the hidden meaning that is to be found behind the words in a certain parable, so that a person may be able to get the right meaning of the passage and the intended teaching of the parable. This technique of interpretation has been referred to as the hardening theory. The first principle in the interpretation of parables states that, the parables should be looked at by the setting of the good example shown from Jesus life. This sets the point of view from which parables should be approached. Another principle states that, parables should be approached from the scenery point of view, where the interpretation should not be done on word to word or from line to line, but rather by looking at the whole story after which a reader can then be in a position to derive the hidden meaning. 2, c. Luke 16: 19-31 is a bible parable which tells the story of the rich man and Lazarus. The rich man lived in luxury while on earth while at the same time Lazarus lived in poverty and much suffering. When the two died Lazarus went to heaven where he rested in the chest of Abraham, while the rich man was tormented in hell. The rich man cried for help but could not be assisted because his time of repentance had gone. This parable explains what happened during that time, and closely relates the story to the events in the present day. In the interpretation of the parable, the rich Christians are supposed to take care of their poor brothers. When the rich man requested that Lazarus be sent on earth to warn his brothers, Abraham stated that, those who could not listen to Moses and Isaac would never listen to Lazarus if he was to come today to give a warning. This relates to the Christians who hear the word of God but do not pay any keen attention to it. The parable has therefore set the biblical teaching on the way of life which should be adopted by Christians. 3, a. The bible scholars have argued that, the moral standards of God did not change even after he gave the law to Moses. The Mosaic law is clearly studied as it states the laws that were given to the Israelites and the standards which God set for the Israelites to observe. The Mosaic law was delivered to the Israelites through Moses. The new covenant that was given to Abraham did not negate the moral standards that had been set earlier in the Mosaic law (Galatians 3:18-21). The only difference is that, in the mosaic covenant, the faithfulness of both parties was required where man was to be faithful to God and would in turn receive receive the promises of God, this is called a bilateral covenant, the Abraham covenant has only God who has promised to be faithful in fulfilling his promises, and is therefore called a unilateral covenant. The new covenant had Paul, James and Jesus emphasizing that Christians should keep and observe the whole law. Christians have therefore been urged to observe the Abraham law that has similar moral standards set by God in the Mosaic law. 3, b. Exodus 22:18, expresses how a witch and a sorcerer is viewed in the kingdom of God. The witch and the sorcerers may be representing all the evil people in the community who are not valued in the eye of God and in the Christian community, as their ambition is to confuse the faithful and to cause problems in the society. The meaning of exodus is not that the faithful should kill the witch and the sorcerer, but rather, they should pray for them and help them to repent and change their ways. 4, a. The epistles are the letters that were written to various individuals in the early church and their authorship is acknowledged to Paul. The epistles begin by mentioning the name Paul in their first wording. The epistles are to be read historically in that, they give a lot of descriptive details about the way the early church lived and how the church was conducted. On the bigger part, the epistles mostly have the theological studies, where the letters that were written to the various churches and to the various individuals addressed specific situations such as, a social wrong that needed people to correct or a poor interpretation of the scripture that needed to be corrected. The letters would also be written where there was a misunderstanding in the early church that needed to be resolved. The epistles contain a lot of theology that require proper interpretation, but at the same time of of the interpretations goes back to the historical settings in the church. 4,b. Collosians 1:13 can be interpretation from the historical sense in that, it takes about it talks a bout a historical past where human beings were living in the darkness, this period can be explained by looking at how it looked like, before human beings got to the grace period when Jesus Christ brought salvation. From the theological point, the verse calls for a lot of theological interpretation where the statement addresses the way in which Christians should live in the life of Christ Jesus. 4, c. Romans 14 together with 1 Corinthians 8, talks about the issue of Christian faith. Paul expressed to the Christians that, they had the liberty to eat anything including the food that was offered to the idols. In stating this, Paul explained that there was only one God and therefore, a Christian who examines their heart and felt it right to eat such food did not commit any sins. Drinking of wine is also not prohibited in the teaching of Paul and he even stated that a little wine for the stomach was good. Christians should always inquire into their conscience and mind to determine whether their faith allows them to do certain action. However, where an act done by a strong believer may ,mislead a weaker believer, it is good for the strong believer to avoid the action.

Macbeth :: essays research papers

Macbeth In the play Macbeth there are many interesting parts which could be due to the suspense and involvement of the supernatural. The use of the supernatural in the witches, the visions, and the ghosts are a key element in making the play interesting. Looking through each act and scene of the play, it is shown that the supernatural is definitely a major factor on the play’s style. The use of the supernatural occurs at the beginning of the play, with the three witches predicting the fare of Macbeth. This gives the reader a clue to what the future holds for Macbeth. â€Å"When the battle is lost and won.† (1.1.1) It says that every battle is lost by one side and won by another. Macbeth’s fate is that he will win the battle, but will lose his time of victory for the battle of his soul. After the prophecies of the witches revealed the fate of Macbeth, the plan in which to gain power of the throne is brought up. The only way to gain power of the throne is for Macb eth to work his way to the throne, or to murder Duncan. Murdering the king was an easier plan due to his dreams urging him on in that direction. Lady Macbeth also relies on the supernatural by her asking upon the evil spirits to give her the power to plot the murder of Duncan with out any remorse or conscience, (1.5.42-57). The three sisters are capable of leading people into danger resulting in death, such as the sailor who never slept, (1.3.1-37). Lady Macbeth has convinced her husband Macbeth to murder King Duncan. On the night they planned to kill Duncan, Macbeth is waiting for lady Macbeth to ring the bell to go up to ring the single bell to go up the stairs to Duncan’s chamber. He sees the vision of the floating dagger. The interest of the dagger is that it leads Macbeth towards the chamber by the presence of evil of the dagger being covered with blood. Then the bell rings and Macbeth stealthily proceeds up the staircase to Duncan’s chamber. Once the murder has b een committed, eventually Banquo has his suspicions about Macbeth killing Duncan to have power of the throne. There is continuously more guilt and fear inside Macbeth and his wife, because of this Macbeth decides to have Banquo killed.

Globalization: What It Is and How Can We Improve for the Better Essay

You can interpret globalization in any way you want because it is not a word but a way of living, be it bad or good. Where did the term globalization come from and what does it mean for consumers, corporate factories, and workers? How did it affect their lives? Despite all of its different sides, globalization is a good thing but to a certain extent. Globalization is in our world now and we should focus on what we should do to regulate globalization to where we are progressing as a whole and not returning to the dark ages. In order to answer these questions we must ask ourselves what does globalization mean? The dictionary definition of globalization is the act of globalizing, or extending to other or all parts of the world. According to Charles Tilly, ‘globalization means an increase in the geographic range of locally consequential social interactions, especially when that increase stretches a significant proportion of all interactions across international or intercontinental limits’ (qtd. in Kesselman 2). It also means it is a worldwide integration and development of countries for the benefit of the world. Economic globalization is a little different. According to the dictionary, economic globalization refers to increasing interdependence of and national economies across the world through a rapid increase in inter-border movement of goods, service, technology, and capital. Even though we hear about globalization a lot recently, the term is not new. People have been selling and trading with different nations for thousands of years before the Great War (World War I) broke out; putting it on hold. In fact, globalization has been around for many centuries now. It has just been a pattern ever since man first traded. A new era of globalization started and has continued since the 1980s (Kesselman 4). Many believe globalization to be spread by westerners. Since the new era of trade, the west did have a large part in influencing globalization, many of which were manufactured automobiles or textiles. â€Å"Globalization is often seen as global westernization† (Sen 28). Even though globalization is most commonly viewed as such, it is not entirely an invention of westerners. There has also been a large influence from the easterners too. Globalization can be a good thing. One good reason why globalization is good is because of international trade. Trade has increase and production has increased. Goods and products have been traded internationally around the world. We get bananas, sneakers, and clothes from other countries. When we trade internationally, it helps both sides of the trade. One country gets the profit to help its’ country out and the other gets its product. â€Å"The bottom line then is that†¦trade is beneficial† (Wolf 76). An example of trade that is beneficial: Of the countries of the world, those in East Asia have grown the fastest and done most to reduce poverty. And they have done so, emphatically, via â€Å"globalization.† Their growth has been based on exports—by taking advantage of the global market for exports and by closing the technology gap. It was not just gaps in capital and other resources that separated the developed from the less-developed countries, but difference in knowledge. East Asian countries took advantage of the â€Å"globalization of knowledge† to reduce these disparities. (Stiglitz 87) Another reason why globalization can be a good thing is knowledge and communications. Without the invention of telephone, it was hard to communicate with one another in the United States. Before phones or telegrams, there were carrier pigeons, letters by mail, or person-to-person conversations. Now almost everywhere around the world has some sort of communication; cell phones, internet, video chats, blogs, etc. The internet is also a means to free information. Of course, there are plenty of negative impacts of globalization. The spreading of information and the spreading of factories causing severe side effects that could cause destruction throughout the world and already has. â€Å"As your country puts on the Golden Straitjacket, two things tend to happened: your economy grows and your politics shrinks† (Friedman 61). In other words, once a country plays into the global economy they have to make huge sacrifices. Globalization is driven by investments, trades, and information. With this rapid form of sharing, it has major effects on the environment and cultures along with the people. Some of them are even harsh. â€Å"Flames and smoke swept the cramped textile factory in Baldia Town, a northwestern industrial suburb, creating panic among the hundreds of poorly paid workers who had been making undergarments and plastic tools†¦almost killing 300 workers† (ur-Rehman, Walsh, and Masood 2012). This is one of the many reasons of the negative impacts of globalization. With globalization many corporations only care about production and how fast they can produce it. Many of the factories, like the one in Baldia, had no safety regulations because the factory wanted more production and more money. Instead of using that money to get better safety for the factory, almost 300 people died that day. I believe that globalization is a good with regulations in place. There will need to be a lot of rules and regulations of globalizations like safety and health. I believe in free information and knowledge. It should be free in order for us to go and become a better people. Without these rules, things like Baldia happen. Globalization plays a big part in our lives today. Even if we tried, we would not be able to stop globalization. We can only regulate it. With globalization we can move towards a more peaceful future where we can understand each other. To improve safety and have regulations is a way to improve globalization. This will make it a whole lot better. If the factory in Baldia had better safety regulations and pay, then the outcome of the burning would have been different. There would be 300 people alive today. Despite all of its different sides, globalization is a good thing only when it is kept regulated. Globalization is in our world now and we should focus on what we should do to regulate globalization to where we are progressing as a whole and not going backwards. With all of the bad and the good, only we can make the difference however small that change may be it is still a difference for the better. Actions that will help others are the only way to go and understand one another more. With all of our technology and knowledge, we can solve many of the worlds’ problems if we just were not so greedy. With globalization, we can change the world; hopefully for the better. Works Cited Friedman, Thomas L. â€Å"The Lexus and the Olive Tree.† The politics of globalization: a reader. Mark Kesselman. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 2007. 59-69. Print. Kesselman, Mark. â€Å"Globalization as Contested Terrain.† The politics of globalization: a reader. Mark Kesselman. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 2007. 1-13. Print. Sen, Amartya. â€Å"How to Judge Globalism.† The politics of globalization: a reader. Mark Kesselman. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 2007. 28-36. Print. Stiglitz, Joseph E. â€Å"Globalism’s Discontents.† The politics of globalization: a reader. Mark Kesselman. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 2007. 86-96. Print. ur-Rehman, Zia, Declan Walsh, and Salman Masood. â€Å"Pakistan Factory Fires Kill More Than 300.† The New York Times – Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. 12 Sept. 2012. Web. 2 Oct. 2012. Webster, Inc. Merriam-Webster’s collegiate dictionary. 11th ed. Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, Inc., 2003. Print. Wolf, Martin. â€Å"Why Globalization Works.† The politics of globalization: a reader. Mark Kesselman. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 2007. 74-85. Print.

Discussing the Relationship between Eugenics, Genomic, and Reproductive Technology

Discussing the Relationship between Eugenics, Genomic, and Reproductive Technology Since the early part of human existence, various discreet and unique characteristics can be seen either on the physical: such as moles, height, physique; and psychological, being manifested on certain behaviors and attitudes. This distinct and apparent inherent characteristic makes up an individual, and consequently has contributed towards the evolution and development of mankind.The study of such, which usually starts from the biological beginnings in genes and DNA’s, can be considered in the basic principles of Eugenics, Genomic, and the Reproductive Technology, and its relative associations. Eugenics can be considered a form of a social thinking, which advocates the development of the hereditary traits of human by means of a variety of forms of intrusion or intervention.All throughout the history, the term has been classified as an advocate for social responsiveness, an enlightened attitude o f the society, primarily aimed to create a stronger, healthier, and intelligent people, and at the same time lessen the sufferings of human (Currell 25). To achieve this goal, earlier methodologies used the procedures on selective or discerning breeding, while the modern methodology focused on the birth control, genetic counseling, pre-natal testing, genetic engineering, and the in-vitro fertilization.Though, the philosophy of eugenics can be considered somewhat idealistic, some of the advocates against it consider it as an enticement to the â€Å"power hungry† and noticeably can be subjected to further corruptions. Furthermore, it is also considered by some as the justification for the sponsored-state discrimination or extermination, and genocide such as the Holocaust. The word â€Å"Genomic† usually covers a broader context of related technologies and scientific research.The term genome refers to the total set of instructions or processes in creating an organism. It is the master or the original blueprint of all cell activities and structures during the life span of an organism (McGrath 10). Considering the human genome, it is comprised of tightly threads in a coil figure of DNA, where the genes can be found. Genomic, therefore, refers to the to the study of the DNA, the mRNA, and the corresponding protein levels.The Reproductive Technology covers all of the anticipated and current technologies in animal and human reproduction, together with the assisted technology in the reproductive state, and contraception. The assisted reproductive technology include the following: cloning, treatment of hormone, cryogenic preservation of sperms and embryos, artificial insemination, in vitro fertilization, artificial reproduction, embryo transfer, and surrogacy, to name a few. Aside from contraception, other techniques involve artificial wombs, repro genetics, technology choice germinal, and parthenogenesis in vitro (Mur 39).Many concerns of the reproductive technology have consequently given rise to certain bioethical issues, since the knowledge or technology more often changes the premises that lie following the existing systems of reproductive and sexual morality. More so, the ethical issues of human improvement occur when the reproductive technology has eventually evolved to be a possible expertise or technology not only for the reproductively withdrawn people but also for healthy reproductive people.Therefore, based on the respective discussion above, eugenics, genomic, and the reproductive technology are associated with each other. They comprised a common theme, which is the human being- for the betterment deemed achievable. They apparently constitutes a â€Å"cyclic† pattern of contextual connotation since the inherent characteristics of every human being depends on the unique genes or â€Å"genetic codes† (genomic).These in turn can be influenced by the social intervention (eugenics) on both of the parents since t he social requisites or responsiveness determines the characteristics and behavior of the parents, which in-turn could be inherited by the off spring. The process or the system upon which all of these can be conceived fall on the ‘reproductive technology† since it is concerned with the various methods of how the women can be â€Å"fertilized† to conceive birth. Aside from this, the reproductive technology also deals with the means of controlling or inhibiting reproduction.Therefore, the innermost portion of the relevant study of the human being lies on the field of genetics, which is being represented by genomic. The inherent process wherein the behavior of a child can be obtained through the combination of genes or DNA’s of both parents, and consequently can be affected by the social various social interventions. The reproductive technology signifies the process wherein these two concerns may be verified. Though the topics presented constitutes a broad ran ge of knowledge, the basic underlying principles and its corresponding associations can be seen.The issues of possible temptation to power, ethical, and moral concerns, cannot be justified. With respect to the technological advancement in the field of human â€Å"development†, the scientific method of achieving such will definitely have an impact on the issues governing morality, ethical values, and social norms. The important thing to remember, though the goal of human development can be very enticing, is that certain boundaries should not be crossed over not to cause imbalanced on the very nature of human existence.

buy custom Types of Treatment for Sex Offenders essay

buy custom Types of Treatment for Sex Offenders essay Wright (2009) defines a sex offender as an individual who has committed a crime of forcing sex acts on children or adults. The criminal justice system ensures incarceration of sex offenders as a way of eliminating them from the society until they undergo a positive behavior change. Sex offenders can undergo treatment while they are serving their prison terms, which can make them socially acceptable in the society upon completing their prison terms. The most common kinds of treatment include medical treatment, behavioral treatment, and cognitive therapy. Medical treatment of sex offenders reduces the level of testosterone in men with an aim of reducing an individuals sexual drive (Wright, 2009). Numerous medications including Depo-Provera can achieve medical treatment. Medical treatment is the most effective technique of reducing recidivism. However, medications cause harmful side effects upon their application. Behavioral treatment involves the application of punishment and rewards to influence the behavior of a sex offender in a positive manner. Penile plethysmograph is an instrument that shows the sexual behavior of an individual. This instrument can determine whether an individual possess pedophilic behaviors. Cognitive therapy involves the change of a sex offenders basic perceptions that surround relationships, sex, and incidents that resulted in the sex crimes. Intensive group and individual therapy achieve cognitive treatment of sex offenders. However, there are some obstacles to the treatment of sex offenders. Among the obstacles is the insufficiency of qualified rehabilitation personnel and funds for the rehabilitation of sex offenders within the Criminal Justice System. Politically, a government may be unwilling to appropriate finances for treatment programs. The current legislation may not be an effective method of treatment due to insufficient funds (Wright, 2009). In spite of the obstacles, medical treatment effectively reduces recidivism rates. Therefore, medical treatment, especially the use of Depo-Provera, is the solution to sex offenses. Buy custom Types of Treatment for Sex Offenders essay

Your LinkedIn Profile 10 Most Common Errors and Omissions

Your LinkedIn Profile 10 Most Common Errors and Omissions Your professional image is largely determined by whats on your LinkedIn profile. Dont think for a minute that any and I mean any employer who considers hiring you wont Google you and vet your LinkedIn profile. What would you like them to find there? I recently offered to review 20 peoples LinkedIn profiles for free, and I got an overwhelming response to my offer. What I learned through the process of conducting these reviews rather astounded me. Heres what potential employers and clients will see in most profiles: 1. Spelling, grammar and punctuation errors in the main profile. Dont let this happen. Find a good editor to review your profile! 2. Recommendations containing spelling, grammar and punctuation errors. Have someone check these and if there are errors, ask your recommender to replace the recommendation. Most people are very cooperative Ive made these requests myself! 3. No picture, a blurry picture, a picture with 2 people in it, or a picture with a busy background. I understand some people have privacy considerations that raise concerns about posting a picture on LinkedIn. If you do choose to post a photo, however, make it a head shot with a plain, light background. Were shooting for the professional look here! 4. Websites like My Company and My graduate school. These titles dont provide much information. Thankfully, its easy to personalize your URLs just choose Other and write in your specific website description. 5. Public profile URLs with lots of numbers, letters and slashes at the end. You can customize your URL to end with your name. Is that name taken? Try last name followed by first name, or use an initial or two, or insert dashes you can figure this one out. (Read more about this in my post Should I Include My LinkedIn Profile URL on My Resume?) Heres what potential employers and clients will NOT see in many cases: 1. Consistency. From one job description to the next, there are often discrepancies in format and structure. Consistency is extremely important in any resume-like document! If you have a heading that says Major Accomplishments, use it in all positions where you had major accomplishments. If you are writing in the third person, write everything in the third person. If you use periods at the end of your bullets, do it everywhere. Capisce? 2. Recommendations. If you own a business or are looking for work, it is especially important to use this opportunity to have people sell you! 3. Descriptions of your job duties and accomplishments why would you leave these out? Its okay on your 10th job in the list to leave out the bullets, but make sure you provide a description of what you did at your jobs. Start your phrases with verbs (past tense verbs for past positions, present tense verbs for present positions). Let us know not just what you did but what you accomplished. The more concrete and quantifiable the better. You can also attach a resume for this purpose if you download the application Box.net. 4. School activities and sometimes degrees. If you got a degree or participated in activities while in school, list them! 5. Applications. I recommend checking out the partner applications available through LinkedIn. You can attach documents, recommend books, and do many other things with these useful tools. Find out whats available and use it! If you avoid these errors and omissions in your LinkedIn profile, you will stand out in a positive way to the people reading it. Why would you take a chance by doing anything else? Are you getting the results that you want from your LinkedIn profile? If not, this book is for you. In my do-it-yourself Kindle book, How to Write a KILLER LinkedIn Profile And 18 Mistakes to Avoid! I provide you with 18 detailed strategies and writing tips that other â€Å"LinkedIn experts† don’t cover. First I tell you how to get found on LinkedIn, and then I tell you how to keep people reading. Click here for more info and to order. Category:Archived ArticlesBy Brenda BernsteinMay 22, 2009 2 Comments Irene Castillo says: May 25, 2009 at 5:14 am I am interested. How would I pay the $25? Thank you. Log in to Reply admin says: May 29, 2009 at 4:12 pm Here is the link to the profile review offer on my website: LinkedIn Profile Review Click ?add to cart? and you will be brought to a PayPal window where you can purchase the profile review. If you would prefer, we can send a PayPal request by email, or an invoice for payment by check. What you get in a LinkedIn Profile Review by The Essay Expert: ? Overview of your presentation, including strengths and weaknesses ? Detailed commentary on every section of your profile ? Substantive and technical suggestions for improvement Thank you for working with The Essay Expert. Log in to Reply

4 Tips for Completing Your Homework On Time

4 Tips for Completing Your Homework On Time Homework, a necessary evil according to many teachers, has a lot of students tied up in knots. Some students can never seem to get things turned in on time. In fact, many students do not even realize that they  have  homework  until a friend from class texts them or they overhear someone in the halls talking about Ms. So-and-sos terrible, no-good, awful, horrifying worksheet for Chemistry that is due the next day. These five tips for completing your homework on time, however, should help you get that homework finished on time.   Tip 1: Rely On a Planning System Most of you by now are well acquainted with a homework planner. It has the dates, the school subjects you are taking, and a whole lot of blank space to write down your homework assignments. Use these planners if you have them. Writing with an actual pencil or pen may seem almost archaic what with technology virtually doing everything for us, but the kinesthetic movement of writing down an assignment into one of those little squares (Language Arts test tomorrow - STUDY TONIGHT), will actually help solidify that homework in your brain. Plus, when you are packing up to go home at the end of the school day, all you have to do is open up that planner to see which books, folders, and binders need to go home with you so you will not miss out anything that you need to do that evening. Some people  hate  using planners. Theyd rather walk on a pile of crushed glass than actually write something down in a planner. Thats quite all right. One student kept a wadded up piece of paper in his pocket where hed scrawl his assignments. It worked for him, so it was fine. For those of you not keen on planners or crumpled up notes,  your phone can come in really handy. Just download a productivity app and type your assignments in there. Or, keep track of all the work due in the notes section of your phone. Or, snap a picture of the homework board in each teachers class before you head out into the hallway. Or, if you are really dead-set against anything planner-related, then just send yourself a text after each class with your homework assignments for the night. No matter which planning system you prefer, use it. Check off each item once you get it in your backpack. Your brain can only process so much information at a time, so you absolutely must write your homework down if you plan to complete it on time.   Tip 2: Prioritize Your Homework Assignments All assignments are not created equal. Its strongly recommended you use a prioritizing system when you sit down at home with your homework. Try a system a little  something like this: A 1 assignment is of primary importance. Severe negative consequences will occur if this assignment is not completed tonight.Examples: Studying for a major test coming up tomorrow. Finishing a major project due tomorrow. Writing an essay worth a LOT of points that is due tomorrow.  A 2 assignment is important. Some negative consequences will occur if this assignment is not completed tonight.Examples:  Studying for a quiz coming up tomorrow. Completing a homework sheet that is due tomorrow. Reading a chapter that is due tomorrow.  A 3 assignment needs to be finished by the end of the week.  Examples: Studying for a spelling test that will occur on Friday. Writing a blog and posting it on the class board by Friday. Finish a book upon which you will take a quiz on Friday.A 4 assignment is ongoing and needs to be finished by test day or the end of the quarter.  Examples: Reviewing chapters for the midterm exam. Working on an on-going project, research paper, or long assignment due at the end of the quarter. Completing a packet that isnt due for two weeks.   Once youve prioritized the work you have to do, complete all the 1s first, then the 2s, moving down as you go. That way, if you find yourself pressed for time because Great-Grandma decided to stop over for family dinner and your mom insisted you spend the evening playing bridge with her despite the fact that you have hours of homework ahead of you, then you will not have missed anything vitally important to your grade.   Tip 3: Get the Worst Assignment Over With First So, maybe you absolutely hate writing essays (But, why, though when all you have to do is follow these essay tips?) and you have a major essay staring you in the face that  must  be completed before tomorrow. You also have to study for a major math test, complete a social studies blog by Friday, study for the ACT  next month,  and finish up your science worksheet from class. Your 1 assignments would be the essay and the math test. Your 2 assignment is the science worksheet, the 3 assignment is that blog, and the 4 assignment is studying for the ACT.   Ordinarily, you would start with the science worksheet because you  love  science, but that would be a big mistake. Start with those 1 assignments and knock out that essay first. Why? Because you hate it. And completing the worst assignment first gets it off your mind, out of your homework cache, and makes everything that comes after it appears to be really, really easy. It will be an absolute  joy  to complete that science worksheet once you have written the essay. Why rob yourself of joy?   Then, once youve completed the stuff due first, you can focus on putting in a little bit of time on the ACT. Easy peasy. Tip 4: Take Planned Breaks Some people believe that sitting down to complete homework means that you literally park your behind in a chair and you dont move it for the next four thousand hours or so. That is one of the worst study ideas in history. Your brain only has the capacity to stay focused for about 45 minutes (maybe even less for some of you) before it goes on the fritz and starts wanting to make you get up and dance the Roger Rabbit. So, schedule your study time with breaks actually built in. Work for 45 minutes, then take a 10-minute break to do whatever it is people your age like to do. Then, rinse and repeat. It looks a little something like this: Homework Time: 45 minutes: Work on 1 assignments, starting with the absolute worst.10 minutes: Get a snack, play Pokemon Go!, surf Instagram45 minutes: Work on 1 assignments again. You know you didnt finish.10 minutes: Do some jumping jacks, dance the Macarena, polish your nails.45 minutes: Work on 2 assignments and maybe even finish with any 3s and 4s. Put everything in your backpack. Completing your homework on time is a learned skill. It requires some discipline and not everyone is naturally disciplined. So, you have to practice checking that you have everything you need for homework when you are still at school, prioritizing your work, plunging into the assignments you loathe, and taking planned breaks. Isnt your grade worth it? You bet it is.

Segmentation and Targeting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Segmentation and Targeting - Essay Example Specific marketing cases Ford Escort is a car brand that was revitalized in 1982, adding Ford’s blue oval insignia for the first time in history alongside a newer frame. The brand was aimed at the sports car market, with a two-seater hatch for lower rooflines (University of southern California, 2010). These body features proved unsuccessful in the sports market and once again, the Ford escort was remodeled for the youth market. The escort brand introduced in the early nineties was a much lower-slung and casual car than either the sedan or wagon. The brand reinstated the Escort GT, as the company was more focused on providing an affordable product for the youths. The Lexus target market ranges for people around the age of forty, with a strong household salary. The luxury market back in 1989 had Lexus brands sell around 25,000 cars in hope of achieving a target of 65,000 cars. With the main rivals of Lexus being brands such as Mercedes Benz, the target market of majority of its brands is well-off customers (Anurit, Newman, And Chansarkar, 2006, p. 15). The choice of target market made by Ford while manufacturing the escort brand revolves around the model of product life sequence. This choice has an impact on its advertising and pricing strategies through marketing mix (University of southern California, 2010). Since Ford Escort is a commodity model of this specific industry, its price and mode of promotion is defined by the targeted market, breaking down the promotion procedures into stages. These stages have been used by Ford to realize the standard income made the youthful market and be able to set prices for the escort model. The choice of target market affected the pricing and advertising strategies of the Lexus vehicle brands through product positioning. Unlike Ford, Lexus fixed its models right before customers who could find them affordable, instead of directly looking the customers. Lexus believed their brand would sell in terms of benefits that ca n be offered to customers through new ways. This way, Lexus could always be affiliated with luxury living, creating a standard means of living able to be felt and understood by its customers. The effects of imposition of a new target market by Ford Escort would have multi-dimensional scaling (Anurit, Newman, And Chansarkar, 2006, p. 16). Market researchers working with ford have analyzed the relationship between introduction of new market targets and consumer perception. Mature Ford escort customers will be inclined to react pessimistically to the bringing in of a new market targets since the dimension the brand has been pursuing for the past twenty years will be altered. Customers will be looking forward to luxurious models of Ford Escort for new buyers (University of southern California, 2010). Therefore, Old buyers will flee the market in search of other affordable brands. The perspective of Lexus buyers will not make a big or significant change with the introduction of a new mar ket target. The brands made by Lexus already hold a luxurious perspective amongst all car buyers worldwide. Therefore, Lexus buyers already find the cars affordable and any significant changes that may occur might be due to the quality or features of new Lexus brands. The image of Ford has been tarnished after the economic downturn began in the European market. As a result, its market

Theodore Roosevelt's Main Contributions to American History Essay

Theodore Roosevelt's Main Contributions to American History - Essay Example This paper will discuss the main contributions of Theodore Roosevelt to American history. â€Å"Theodore brought modernism to the American government† (Woods 2010, 1). He was properly suited for this responsibility. Philosophically, Roosevelt was an expert who was determined to bring effectiveness and intelligence to fight against spoilers of the natural environment, as well as international disorder. Roosevelt was as historians put it, "the first great leader who changed America to the modern industrial age" (Woods 2010, 1). Roosevelt had little endurance with federalism and also with a majority of the constitutional barriers that stood between him and the establishment of a fresh American state. Politically, Theodore was a dedicated nationalist. He, therefore, could hardly bring himself to address Thomas Jefferson, whom he detested. Moreover, as late as the 1880s, Roosevelt was still criticizing Jefferson Davis as a traitor. Roosevelt was angered by The Confederate cause bec ause it denied a large united nation its own justification. â€Å"Roosevelt took to the presidential office a consistent and thorough philosophy of a government† (Woods 2010, 1). What a former leader might have done without fanfare or hesitatingly, Theodore Roosevelt formed a much better principle. ... They all echo the president's self-belief in proficient commissions and his stewardship assumption of the executive branch. As one historian put it, these acts, put together, "may well be regarded as the dawn of a modern regulatory nation, the great America" (Woods 2010, 1). Not all American leaders were confident at this view. One traditional Republican stated that Roosevelt was â€Å"unconsciously or consciously trying to focus all power in Washington, to eliminate state lines, as well as to govern the people by bureaus and commissions." Roosevelt was a natural publicist. â€Å"He offered an astonishing heritage to the American citizens of a variety of resources and lands in public ownership† (Bedford/St Martin's 2009, 16). He used the Presidency's "bully pulpit" successfully to stimulate public interest in conservation matters. Theodore’s key contribution to the conservation movement was "wielding his presidential status to craft an alliance of people from civic lea ders and naturalists who favored conservation to useful resource specialists, as well as users" (Woods 2010, 1). No success shows this better than the Governor's Conference of 1907. At this meeting, Roosevelt conveyed all the country’s governors and several other leaders together and, using his own eagerness for conservation, he ignited policies, discussions and proceedings that still echo today at many levels of the American government. â€Å"Theodore Roosevelt also assumed that he had a duty to spread American interests and ideas across the globe† (Roosevelt 2006, 1). As the leading world power, the U.S. had an apparent chance to remake the global system in a manner that would eradicate the old ruins of war, as well as corrupt alliances. Roosevelt

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Unit 2 LS311 Torts and Cyber Torts-CASE STUDY - Essay Example The position held in the NCR Corp v Korala associates Ltd 2007 06-3685 (6th Cir.), where the court stated that the provisions of the arbitration clause are binding in claims relating to the contract. Where the claim has a connection to the contract, the resolution of the dispute facilitated through arbitration (Miller & Jentz 2009). On the other hand, where the claims are not within the contractual terms, the arbitration clause does not bind. Regardless of the nature of the claim, it is only binding if the court must reference the contract in its resolution. The court looked into whether the parties agreed to arbitrate on such claims in order for the arbitration clause to be binding. The outcome in Baker v Osborne, therefore, would provide for the parties to arbitrate on the claims. The arbitration clause in the contract provides for arbitration between the parties concerning any issues arising concerning the contract, the scope of the clause covers the current claim and, therefore, the new owners bound by the arbitration clause, and they should not sue the

Current issue speech about hospitality marketing Essay

Current issue speech about hospitality marketing - Essay Example Research conducted by Redshift Research reports that, statistically, hotel uses lead the number of people using social media in the hospitality industry followed by vacation activities, attractions and restaurants. Olenski has used a few examples to drive his point home (Web). He argues that four seasons hotels and resorts band is very famous in the hospitality industry yet promoting it through the social media has never been successful as expected. Olenski says that an attempt to increase weekend booking through the social media by Maxine saw only a few people visiting the different social media sites such as Facebook, twitter and Instagram (Web). The few people who visited the social media platform did not have a huge impact on the market target. It is apparent that marketing the hospitality industry through the social media is not an easy task. It is indeed challenging for players in the hospitality industry to target the right audience through social media. Social media marketing also requires highly engaging and interactive platform in order to benefit a given brand. Social media marketing in the hospitality industry therefore, requires improvement on a few areas. A few mistakes are made by different brands who market their products and services in the social media in the hospitality industry. Usually, social media is accompanied with additional pressure on company’s resources including staffs that can make sure a high-level of engagement with social media users. According to Olenski, social media can only do well when issues such as immediacy, engagement and reliable are maintained (Web). Immediacy, engagement and reliability are the only way hospitality industry can gain from the social media marketing. Internal resources are significant in providing the real benefits of products and services to consumers through interaction and engagement. Social media should be utilized by the internal

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To what extent are a company's annual report and accounts useful in understanding and analysing its market, productive and fi - Essay Example Other than the owners, there are other internal and external parties who need to study final reports and accounts of a business like the management body, investors, creditors, government agencies, labour unions and tax authorities. This paper discusses the usefulness of annual reports in understanding a company’s market, production and financial performances. Rules of accounts The final reports and accounts of a business enterprise are prepared by the directors whose primary responsibility is to provide a â€Å"true and fair view of the state of the company’s financial position and results†2 at the end of a financial year. In every country there is the Companies Act that provides directions, rules and regulations regarding the format and content of the final accounts that need to be strictly followed. The final reports and accounts are comprised of profit and loss account, balance sheet, cash flow statement, statement of total recognised profit and loss, note on historical cost profit and losses, activities done with funds of the shareholders, notes to the accounts.3 Together these form the financial statements of a business enterprise and they reflect the strength of market relationship, productivity and financial position of the business, and whether it has the ability to sustain and develop in the competitive market in the long run. The profit and loss account which is also known as the income statement provides a summary of the activities of a business and the financial achievements in a particular financial year. It provides information about the â€Å"sales or turnover, operating expenses, exceptional items, interest payments, taxation charges and dividends paid and proposed.†4 Although the profit and loss is prepared in a prescribed format, it is designed in a manner that meets the information needs of the management.5 An example of a published profit and loss account of Pickers PLC is shown in Fig.1. Fig.1: Profit and loss ac count for the year ended 31 March 2003 ?000s ?000s Turnover 20,300 Cost of sales (13,850) Gross profit (or loss) 6,450 Distribution costs (2,314) Administration expenses (1,424) (3,738) Operating profit 2,712 Income from other fixed asset assessment investments 125 2,837 Interest payable and similar charges (813) Profit (or loss) on ordinary activities before taxation 2,024 Users of accounts The main purpose of financial statements is to â€Å"reveal the results and financial position of the business.† For this purpose in every business organization final accounts are prepared at the end of every financial year.6 In a business enterprise, it is not only the owners, shareholders or the management body who need to study the final reports and accounts but there are other internal and external parties who have equal rights to know about the financial condition and stability of the company for variable reasons. These parties are investors, employees, lenders, suppliers and other c reditors, customers, government and their agencies, and the public. Investors are those people or organizations that take risks by investing their monies to buy shares of a company. In

Current issue speech about hospitality marketing Essay

Current issue speech about hospitality marketing - Essay Example Research conducted by Redshift Research reports that, statistically, hotel uses lead the number of people using social media in the hospitality industry followed by vacation activities, attractions and restaurants. Olenski has used a few examples to drive his point home (Web). He argues that four seasons hotels and resorts band is very famous in the hospitality industry yet promoting it through the social media has never been successful as expected. Olenski says that an attempt to increase weekend booking through the social media by Maxine saw only a few people visiting the different social media sites such as Facebook, twitter and Instagram (Web). The few people who visited the social media platform did not have a huge impact on the market target. It is apparent that marketing the hospitality industry through the social media is not an easy task. It is indeed challenging for players in the hospitality industry to target the right audience through social media. Social media marketing also requires highly engaging and interactive platform in order to benefit a given brand. Social media marketing in the hospitality industry therefore, requires improvement on a few areas. A few mistakes are made by different brands who market their products and services in the social media in the hospitality industry. Usually, social media is accompanied with additional pressure on company’s resources including staffs that can make sure a high-level of engagement with social media users. According to Olenski, social media can only do well when issues such as immediacy, engagement and reliable are maintained (Web). Immediacy, engagement and reliability are the only way hospitality industry can gain from the social media marketing. Internal resources are significant in providing the real benefits of products and services to consumers through interaction and engagement. Social media should be utilized by the internal

Project Managment Scheduling queastion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Project Managment Scheduling queastion - Essay Example The expected time for an activity represents the average time it would take if the activity is performed over and over again. It is known empirically that the probability density function of activity duration closely follows a Beta distribution, which defines the following relationship (Heldman & Baca, 267) Standard Deviation is used for calculating the variability associated with the high degree of uncertainty in estimated time durations. The standard deviation is represented by sigma symbol ‘ÏÆ'’ and is calculated as The time analysis elements such as the forward pass (Early Start time ES and Early Finish time EF) and the Backward Pass (Late Start time LS and Late Finish time LF) are used to find the Critical Path. These times are calculated using the Expected Time (te) for the respective activity relative to the zero date (date when the project clock starts ticking) of the project. The Backward Pass Late Start (LS) and Late Finish (LF) values are calculated considering that the earliest completion time of the project for the last activity and then working backwards towards the predecessors. For all the last activities, the LF will be equal to the respective EF value. Therefore, values of LF for the activities O, N, M, I and C are equal to the respective values of EF. The Critical Path can be determined by finding the Total Slack for each activity. Total Slack for any activity is the maximum time by which the start of an activity can be delayed without affecting the critical path. The path with the longest Expected time duration is the critical path. Activities on the critical path have slack as 0, since these activities cannot be delayed at all. Each path from the Start to the Finish node is defined along with the respective time duration. The Expected Completion Time (Et) for each path is equal to the expected duration of the constituent activities. For Example, A-E-H-K-I is calculated

Patient Risk Essay Example for Free

Patient Risk Essay This example of a reflective essay is presented in association with Price, B and Harrington, A (2013) Critical Thinking and Writing for Nursing Students, London, Learning Matters. Readers are introduced to the process of critical and reflective thinking and the translation of these into coursework that will help them to achieve better grades in nursing courses. Stewart, Raymet, Fatima and Gina are four students who share their learning journey throughout the chapters of the book. In this essay on the assessment of pain, Raymet demonstrates her reflective writing skills near the end of her course. Raymet had by this stage written several reflective practice essays and gained good marks. This time though she was encouraged to deepen her reflections, speculating selectively on how the account of pain experienced by a patient (Mrs Drew) might help her to work more creatively with patient perceptions and reported needs. N.B. Remember, copying essays such as this, submitting them as a whole or in part for assessment purposes, without attributing the source of the material, may leave you open to the charge of plagiarism. Significant sanctions may follow for nurses who do this, including referral to the Nursing and Midwifery Council. Assessing Mrs Drew’s Pain Mc Caffery and Pasero (1999) state that pain is what the patient says it is. If we accept that point, then nurses need to explore the patient’s perceptions of pain, as well as their report of experiences. The two are not quite the same. Patients may report their pain in a variety of ways, dependent on the nature and the intensity of pain and the context in which it is felt (e.g. whether they are ever distracted from the pain). Their perception of pain is a little more though and it includes the meaning that the pain has for them. It includes explanation of why the pain is there in the first place, what it indicates about their body and what it could  suggest might happen in the future (getting better, getting worse). The nurse assesses the account of pain shared by the patient, and this may be given in the form of a story. This is how it began, this is how it felt, this is what that meant to me and this is what I did about it (Mishler et al. 2006) In this essay I explore the assessment of pain as conducted with one 60 year old patient whom I will call Mrs Drew. Whilst the essay describes an assessment of pain with a single patient, I try to share too some ideas and questions that this provokes within me about pain assessment more generally. Mrs Drew made me think about other patients, future assessments and what I had to do as a nurse to help patients. To help structure this essay I use the framework described by Gibbs (1988). Whilst the episode concerned relates a stage in Mrs Drew’s illness when she challenged her treatment protocol, it also includes some of the memories and thoughts that this patient refers to regarding her earlier illness and past ways of coping with pain. In particular, it prompted me to question to what extent I as a nurse should recommend analgesia, drawing on what I had been taught about the effective control of pain. I had learned that it was better to control rather than to chase pain ( e.g. Mann and Carr, 2006; Forbes, 2007). Mrs Drew was diagnosed with lung cancer a year earlier and had initially had her illness treated by chemotherapy. This had helped her to achieve a remission that lasted for nearly ten months (Hunt et al, 2009 describe the prognosis of this disease). The cancer had returned though and spread to her spine and it was here that she experienced most of her pain.It was at this stage that the doctors explained that her care would now be directed towards her comfort rather than a cure—to which she had replied, ‘you mean palliative care’. Mrs Drew was supported at home by her husband Neil and visited on a regular basis by community based nurses to whom I was attached as part of my student nurse training. She was prescribed oral morphine and could decide within stated limits how many tablets she could take in any one 24 hour period. The situation I had visited Mrs Drew on several occasions over the period of a month when the community nurse and I were confronted by a tearful patient who announced that she did not wish to take the oral opiates quite as often as we were recommending. As she spoke she held her husband’s hand tightly, looking across to him as she described her experiences and feelings about the matter. Yes, there had been some bad nights when the pain had woken her and she had to sit up and watch television to try and distract herself. Yes, sometimes the pain made her feel nauseous, but she was alarmed at how frequently she was taking the ‘pain tablets’ and how this made her feel about herself. However well meant the medication was, it didn’t feel dignified to be so reliant on drugs, or quite so sleepy and unresponsive for such a high percentage of the day. Whilst the analgesia was working well when she took the tablets, the quality of life wasn’t what she wanted. The community nurse listened patiently to Mrs Drew and then explained that it was normal to have panic moments about such medication. Morphine had a reputation, one that people associated with misuse of drugs, rather than their therapeutic use. Used on a regular basis, the drug wouldn’t cause addiction and it would provide a great deal of reassurance to Mr Drew as well. The community nurse stated that she was quite sure that he respected his wife’s need to sleep when she wished and to build the rhythm of the day around her needs. At this point Mrs Drew shook her husband’s hand, and said, ‘tell her†¦tell her what we’ve talked about!’ Mr Drew then explained that his wife was used to dealing with pain, she had suffered recurrent pain in her neck and shoulder after a road traffic accident some years before. The pain had sometimes been severe, but he had massaged her shoulders and used heat packs that she found soothing. They had decided that they wished to use this technique now, keeping the morphine for absolute emergencies, when she was losing sleep and couldn’t eat as a result of the discomfort. The community nurse assured them that they were in charge of the analgesia and would be allowed to make their own decisions. She started to make notes though, and announced that she was making a referral to the cancer pain clinic, something that would help them to take stock of the situation. There was very good reason to suppose that this might be a problem associated with choosing the right dosage of the  morphine, rather than using supplemental pain relief measures. Mrs Drew responded sharply, ‘You’re not listening to me though Jane (the community nurse’s name—a pseudonym is used here), I want to use heat packs instead of morphine, at least during the day. I want to be more alive with my husband.’ The community nurse assured Mrs Drew that she had heard what she had said and respected her point of view. There would though be nothing lost by using the clinic to gain a further check on this matter. With that she excused us, explaining that we had a further appointment that morning and we left, having checked that Mrs Drew had a sufficient supply of her different medicines. As we walked to the car the community nurse empathised with Mrs Drew’s plight, saying that if she had lung cancer she would probably grasp at straws too. She would reach out for things that seemed more normal, and then observed, ‘but this isn’t normal is it, the pain she has isn’t normal. It’s not just a whip lash injury and old age.’ Feelings I remember that during this episode feeling a mixture of confusion, surprise, anger and impotence. Mrs Drew had surprised me by the way she had spoken, using what seemed to be a planned announcement. They had waited for and perhaps rehearsed this moment. Nothing in my experience to date had prepared me for such an encounter, at least in such circumstances, where we as nurses were so obviously working to support the patient. It was only later that I called the episode a confrontation. Mr and Mrs Drew had confronted the community nurse and I had been the largely silent witness to the event. As the discussion proceeded I remember making supportive noises, remarking how useful heat packs sometimes were and glancing across at Jane, who seemed to be signalling with her expression that I should leave this debate to her. I was trying to read her reactions to the Drew’s points and concluded that if I couldn’t support her arguments to the patient, then I should remain silent. The re were issues here that I perhaps hadn’t enough experience to deal with, at least, whilst ‘thinking on my feet’. My initial anger (with Mrs Drew for not acknowledging all that we were trying to do) quickly became displaced towards my colleague Jane. During the event I couldn’t explain why that was, but afterwards, when I made notes, I realised that it was because she seemed to have set the agenda in her own mind and to be requiring the patient to comply with concerns of her own. Put rather crudely, Jane seemed to be saying, listen I know about these things, this is a phase, an anxiety; you can work through all this. I believed at this point that she had missed the significance of the event, the way in which the Drew’s had arranged the conversation. For them, this was not a phase at all, but a considered and very important decision, one that they wanted the nurses to accept (Freshwater, 2002 and Edwards and Elwyn, 2009 emphasize the importance of negotiated care planning). My feelings of impotence were associated strongly with my lack of clinical experience. I have met this before. No matter how many placements I do, no matter how good the mentoring I receive, I keep meeting situations where I am unsure about how to respond next. I feel younger, less knowledgeable than I should be at this stage in my training. I want to reassure patients, to support colleagues and to give good advice, but there is not enough confidence to do that. If I felt unsettled and uncertain about Jane’s response to the Drew’s, right then I couldn’t easily explain that. I couldn’t offer a second opinion, couldn’t suggest an idea that might help support the patient. To my annoyance I couldn’t manage that either as we left the house. Jane had made some fair points, she  clearly seemed concerned about the patient’s needs, but perhaps she hadn’t spotted the right need—for Mrs Drew to determine in greater part how she de alt with her illness. Experience evaluated Afterwards, this short episode prompted doubts and debates about several important aspects of nursing for me. Setting aside the etiquette of learning in clinical practice, not challenging a qualified nurse in front of a  patient, there were problems here associated with supporting patient dignity, with my assumptions relating to analgesia and pain control strategies, and I realised, with my assumptions about types of pain and who had the expertise to define these. Dignity is more than simply using the appropriate terms of address, protecting the privacy of patients and attending to their expressed concerns (Price, 2004). It is about clarifying the ways in which they live and accommodate illness or treatment. It is about finding out what benchmarks they use to say that ‘yes, I am doing well here, this makes me feel good about myself’. Upon reflection, I sense that we on this occasion had not worked hard enough to discover how Mr and Mrs Drew define quality of life, or being in charge of their situation. We were more concerned with providing resources, sharing research or theory about medication and questioning the familiar misconceptions associated with morphine. To put it simply, we were ‘missing a trick’, reading the encounter as something that had happened many times before—the report of problems or anxieties, a request for help, rather than a decision that the patient and her carer had already come to. Reading situations well seemed, with the benefit of hindsight, to be the first basis for dignified care. ‘What is happening here, what will help the patient most?’ were questions that we perhaps assumed that we already knew the answer to. I realised that in my training I had already accepted the argument that patients would wish to remain pain free come what may and that the tackling of fears about prospective pain, was something that nurses engaged in. I assumed that because cancer pain represented such a major threat, because it was greater and more all encompassing, that there was little or no doubt that it should be removed. What was so unsettling, and took so much time to examine, was that Mrs Drew acknowledged the possible severity of metastatic cancer pain, but that she still preferred to respond to it using measures that had worked for her whiplash neck injury. Mrs Drew was willing to trade off a pain free state for something that gave her a greater sense of control and which perhaps enabled her husband to express his support for her in a very tangible way (preparing heat packs, massaging her back, rather than simply giving her the tablets). Mr and Mrs Drew questioned all my assumptions about best analgesia pr actice, and seemed to write a large  question mark on the textbooks I had read about chasing rather than controlling pain in palliative care situations (Mann and Carr, 2006). Reflections (learning opportunities) The episode with Mrs Drew left me uncomfortable because my past approach to pain management was theoretical. I (and I believe Jane too) regularly made use of science to decide what could be done as regards pain relief and to assume that patients would wish to achieve all of those benefits. This wasn’t about local applications of heat versus morphine, Mrs Drew could use both, it was about choice and how patients made choices—why they reached the decisions that they did. It was for me, about accepting very personally, that providing that patients are given all the relevant facts, alerted to the options, that they really are able to make choices that work for them. The very fact that Mrs Drews illness was now incurable, that she and her husband usually tackled pain together, meant that her solution to the challenge was different to those that many other patients arrived at. Having dealt with this pain for some time, knowing that it could and probably would get worse, meant that she was better equipped than other less experienced patients to make a decision here. This took nothing away from the benefits of sharing further discussion with pain clinic experts. I thought, Mrs Drew will stand her ground, she will insist on doing things her way if her husband is strong too. What it did highlight though was the importance of listening to patients, hearing how they perceive pain, how they narrate not only the pain but what they did about it. In this instance the narration was all about dignity, and coping, and finding ways to help one another and how this enables us to feel in the face of such a terrible illness. So, in telling us about her pain, what she did about it, using morphine when it was ‘absolutely required’, Mrs Drew was not reporting her ignorance of what could be achieved if the medication was used differently, but what she preferred to do as it enabled her to achieve different goals. Mrs Drew’s goals were about liveliness, alertness and stoicism, showing that she could bear at least a measure of pain. I wondered why I hadn’t listened carefully enough to such a story? Was it because of time pressure, or perhaps complacency, that Jane and I felt that we already knew what account would be  shared? Did we think that the patient would ask for help, more help, as the pain continued? If so, then our guesses had prompted us to behave as experts, and problem solvers, on the patient’s behalf. Perhaps hearing a patient narrative is about discovering what sort of role they would like you to fulfil. If so, then it might be a difficult role. I thought hard about how hard this was for Jane. She was going to be asked to witness Mrs Drew’s future pain, one that was now less perfectly controlled. She was going to be asked to reassure, to suggest measures that might help, without reminding the patient that she ‘already knew that you couldn’t manage pain that way!’ When I think about it now, that is very stressful for a nurse. It is about caring and allowing patient’s to make choices that we personally might not make. Conclusions I have drawn then three conclusions from the above reflection. First, that being patient centred is never easy and requires real listening and interpretation skills. My criticism of what Jane chose to do, to try and dissuade Mrs Drew from a course of action, recommending further appraisal of the situation, is an easy one to make. Nurses confront situations such as this relatively unprepared and react as considerately as possible. It is easy in hindsight to recommend other responses, a further exploration of what motivated Mrs Drew’s pain management preferences. Second, that experience can be a valuable teacher, the equal of textbooks. If nurses are interested in care, then we should be concerned with the sense that patients make of their own illness, the treatment or support that they receive. We need to understand what patients have to teach us and have to acknowledge that this means that we won’t always seem in control ourselves, expert and knowledgeable. Our expertise might be elsewhere, helping patients to reach their own decisions. Third, that one way to understand patient perspectives on illness or treatment, on pain management in this example, is to hear how they talk  about the situation. How do they describe the pain, how do they refer to what they did about it? The way in which the story is shared, how we coped, how this made us feel, is as important as the facts related. Sometimes a patient needs to feel stalwart, even heroic in the face of illness. Future care It would be foolish and unprofessional to recommend to other patients that they might not wish to remove pain, or that overcoming pain doesn’t always mean we don’t continue to experience it. For every Mrs Drew there may be many other patients who would welcome the complete removal of pain, so that they can die calmly, quietly, with their own version of dignity. But it does seem to me, that it will be worth thinking about the diversity of patients and how they prefer to cope when I assess pain and help manage this problem in the future. I won’t be able to walk away from the responsibility of debating whether I have explained all that I could, detailed the strengths and limitations of different ways of coping. I will need to find reflection time to ponder what patients have said and if necessary to go back and say, ‘I’ve been thinking some more about your words last week..’ knowing that this doesn’t make me any the less professional. References Edwards, A and Elwyn, G (2009) Shared decision-making in health care: achieving evidencebased patient choice, 2nd ed. Oxford, Oxford University Press Forbes, K (2007) Opiods in cancer pain, Oxford, Oxford University Press Freshwater, D (2002) Therapeutic nursing: improving patient care through self awareness, London, Sage. Gibbs G (1988) Learning by doing: a guide to teaching and learning methods, Oxford, Oxford Polytechnic Further Education unit Hunt, I., Muers, M and Treasure, T (2009) ABC of lung cancer, Oxford, Wiley-Blackwell/BMJ Books Mann, E and Carr, E (2006) Pain management, Oxford, Blackwell McCaffery, M and Pasero, C (1999) Pain: Clinical manual, Mosby, Philadelphia Mishler, E., Rapport, F and Wainwright, P (2006) The self in health and illness: patients, professionals and narrative identity, Oxford, Radcliffe Publishing Ltd Price, B (2004) Demonstrating respect for patient dignity, Nursing Standard, 19(12), 45-51

Enterprise resource planning

Enterprise resource planning 1. INTRODUCTION Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems are among the most important business information technologies to emerge in the last decade. The basic concept of Enterprise Systems is focused mainly on standardization, synchronization and improved efficiency. Thousands of major construction firms and increasing numbers from other sectors as well, either have just completed their first ERP implementations or are in the middle of this major undertaking. ERP systems can be defined as configurable information systems packages which integrate information and process across organisational functional areas (Kumar and Hillegersberg, 2000). The benefits of Enterprise Systems are very significant: coordinating processes and information, reducing carrying costs, decreasing cycle time and improving responsiveness to customer needs (Davenport 2000). Keeping the project on schedule, under budget and the quality are usually are the main problem that has been faced by the construction industry. Construction industry is one of the major industries in contributing the economy, eventhough it is measured to be one of the most highly fragemented, inefficient and geographically detached industries in the world (Chung, 2007). To overcome this inefficiency, a number of solutions have long been offered including implementation of IT. In the context of the construction industry, ERP would be defined as a computer-based business management system that integrates all processes and data of the business, including engineering/design, planning, procurement, construction and maintenance/operations (Tatari et al. 2007). Now a days numbers of major construction companies are implementing the integrated IT solutions such as ERP systems to better integrate their various functions. However, these integrated systems in construction present a set of unique challenges, different from those in the manufacturing or other service sector industries. Each construction project is characterized by a unique set of site conditions, a unique performance team, and the temporary nature of the relationships between project participants. This means a construction business organization needs extensive customization of pre-integrated business applications from ERP vendors. Unfortunately, such an extensive customization can lead a construction firm to ERP implementation failure. The ERP applications that are used by construction industry can be classified into two distinct groups: pre-packaged Software, and Web-based Project Management System (WPMS). Currently, the worlds biggest pre-packaged ERP software contributors involve SAP, Oracle, PeopleSoft, J.D. Edwards, and Baan. SAP is said to have about 60% of the world market (Holland, Light, Kawalek, 1999). 2. Problem Statement ERP has become an essential part of enterprise method over the globe. Use of ERP in other sectors is being stable and growing. Its critical influence within designing novel business environments and procedures has been noteworthy. Different organizations in assorted subdivisions have dedicated to paying out and have already paid out large summations of capital for the implementation of ERP in their organizations. These equivalent companies possess been able towards document major improvements, both concrete and elusive, within their campaigns as a outcome of ERP implementation. Large number of organizations have implemented ERP in their process and make it more effective and profitable. The same observation can be made for some of the most successful corporations in the world. The question needs towards be asked why is this? What are a number of the listened benefits that inflict corporations devote towards the implementation of ERP within their organizations? According to Oliver, Romm (2002), in common with other types of investment activity the adoption of an ERP system is a purposive intervention by an organization for bringing about a new state of affairs that is judged to be superior to the current state. The most bulk valued factor that are often stated as a intent for performing to the implementation of ERP: Integration Access of Information Improvement in process Thoughtfulness in business Dissatisfaction with out dated legacy systems After implementing ERP companies have been competent to enhance costumer relation, strengthen delivering the flexible supply chain partnerships, improving the organizational flexibility, improve decision-making competency and decreasing task culmination time and cost (Ahmed, and Ahmed, Azhar, Mallikarjuna, 2003). Although Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) has been completely applied by various associations internationally, within almost everybody of the else principal industrial sectors, its utilization in the building industry has been limited to exert via a few large organizations The greatest gatherings of construction administration that have either failed in their efforts to take on this technology, or are not very apparent with it are Small and Mid Size Construction Organizations. These organizations comprises the strength of the construction industry and have their possess specified commercial and operational needs. The failure of Small and Mid Size Construction Organizations to adopt ERP, despite all its promise advantages, is a problem that desires to be addressed. It can be proposed that 2. RESEARCH PURPOSE The overall purpose of this research is to assess the critical success factors for the implementation of ERP systems to support construction industry and to what extent it is being used in enterprise integration and the benefits derived from using ERP systems. Furthermore, success factors coupled with the organizational performance will be assessed and validated. The relationship between the perceived performances will be assessed against the influence of upper management support, role of project champion in managing change in the organization, the level of organizational emphasis on communication and training, and organizational experience with ERP systems. 3. RESEARCH AIM The proposed research endeavours to investigate the following questions: What issues and problems faced by Construction organisations during the implementation of ERP systems? How can problems be reduced in implementing complex new technology into the existing structure of an organization? What must be considered, from the organizational as well as the technical perspective, to effectively integrate the technology and people in the organization who use it? Although this study cannot fully answer these questions, this research will provide valuable information concerning the technological and management systems used to support Construction organizations. Evaluation of implementation and problem issues will serve to further support management decision making. 4. RESEARCH QUESTIONS This research will identify the characteristics of ERP systems used in todays Construction industry. The results of this research will provide additional realistic information for construction organizations seeking to implement ERP systems, providing recommendations pertaining to the issues that must be addressed for companies to avoid critical problems in their own implementation of ERP systems. Questions to address: What are the critical success factors for implementing ERP system in a Construction organization? Is upper management support crucial to the success of ERP systems? What are the change management strategies the management should employed to help the successful implementation and performance of ERP systems? Is the success of ERP system depends upon the level of effective communication and the employee education and training? The generalized question to which this research will contribute is: What are the basic factors that determine the success of ERP systems implementation in regards to the ability of the system to influence organizational performance? When an organization decides to implement and integrate an extended, inter-departmental computer system into its operations, what issues must be addressed to indemnify that the computer application system will effectively contribute to organizational performance improvement? 5. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES The objectives of this research are as follows: To independently obtain current information regarding the state of ERP systems in Construction organization today. To determine the critical success factors for implementing an ERP system in Construction organisation. To survey current users about factors that contribute to the success of ERP systems, especially in regards to effective communication, user training techniques, change management and the effect of upper management support. This will serve to validate previous research as well as obtain more information about successful experiences in industry. 6. Research method The research method appropriate for this research project will be of qualitative nature through an interpretive case study, where data collection techniques will consist of thorough literature review, secondary data review of documentation regarding the ERP project and interviews from senior computer, technical and management consultants. 2. Literarture Review 1. INTRODUCTION Literature is a term that refers to all sources of published data and Literature Review is a written summary about the findings from the literature (Hussey and Hussey, 1997). A literature review helps in establishing what research has been conducted on the researchers chosen area of study and also to identify what research is currently in progress (Saunders et al., 2000). In order to research into Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, a thorough literature review has been conducted with a centre of attention placed on ERP systems and the implementation of these systems in Construction organizations. Previous papers on ERP implementation projects will be reviewed focusing on successes and previous failures in ERP projects. As the research site is Hindustan Construction Company Ltd., the coonstruction sector has also been reviewed. 2. ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING 2.1The ERP Phenomena ERP systems are highly integrated software packages (Holland et al., 1999) that can be customised to cater for the specific needs of an organisation (Boudreau and Robey, 2000; Esteves and Pastor, 2001; Laberis, 1999). The concepts that have been evaluated and, at times, utilized by construction organizations in achieving the goal of improved efficiency through better management of collaborated knowledge is Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)(Negahban and Baecher 2008). ERP systems have been defined to be a computer program that provides a general working platform for all departments of an enterprise with their management functions being integrated into the program (Jingsheng Halpin, 2003). Several definitions from the published literature are given to further explain the concept: ERP (enterprise resource planning systems) comprises of a commercial software package that promises the seamless integration of all the information flowing through the company-financial, accounting, human resources, supply chain and customer information (Davenport, 1998). ERP systems are configurable information systems packages that integrate information and information-based processes within and across functional areas in an organization (Kumar and Van Hillsgersberg, 2000). One database, one application and a unified interface across the entire enterprise (Tadjer, 1998). ERP systems are computer-based systems designed to process an organizations transactions and facilitate integrated and real-time planning, production, and customer response (OLeary, 2001). Kapp et al. (2001) defined ERP as a system of integrated procedure, rules and algorithms designed to function consistently time and time again (p. 85). The key point in an ERP system is integration. The purpose of ERP is to create one computer system that can perform all the functions of every department within an organization by linking all the departments into one single database. What ERP really does is organize, codify, and standardize an enterprises business processes and data. According to Negahban, S, 2008 By utilizing this technology would allow the construction industry to harness the power of collective knowledge. In addition, regulatory and competitive forces, financial demands of owners, and an ever-shortening timeline to finish projects contributed to an increased pace of the utilization of this technology in the construction industry. It took the construction industry longer than other industries to realize the importance of the utilization of IT applications in improving the possibility of ultimate success in an integrated project environment. 2.2 Evolution of ERP The history of ERP can be traced back in 1960s, when the system focuses mainly towards inventory control (Seo, 1999). During 1970s, a shift of focus towards MRP (Material Requirement Planning) was observed. This system helped in translating the master production schedule into requirements for individual units like sub assemblies, components and other raw material planning and procurement. This system was involved mainly in planning the raw material requirements (Kalakota and Robinson, 2001). Then, in 1980s came the concept of MRP-II (Manufacturing Resource Planning) which involved optimizing the entire plant production process (Seo, 1999; Kalakota and Robinson, 2001). In the beginning, MRP-II was an extension of MRP to include shop floor and distribution management activities. Afterwards, it was further extended to include areas like Finance, Human Resource, Engineering, Project Management etc (Seo, 1999). This gave birth to ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) which covered the cross-functional coordination and integration in support of the production process (Seo, 1999; Kalakota and Robinson, 2001). The role of enterprise resource planning (ERP) does not match its name. It is no longer related to planning and resources, but is rather related to the enterprise aspect of the name. ERP attempts to unify all systems of departments together into a single, integrated software program based on a single database so that various departments can more easily share information and communicate with each other.(chung,2007).The ERP include the entire range of a companys activities. It addresses both system requirements and technology aspects including client/server distributed architecture, RDBMS, object oriented programming etc (Bancroft, 1996). ERP systems are designed as an integrated set of software modules, all linked to a common database, handling a host of corporate functions such as finance, human resources, material management, sales etc. (Slater, 1998). Russell and Taylor (1995) suggested that the ERP of today differ from traditional MRP II system in the areas of relational database management, graphical user interface (GUI), fourth generation languages (4GL), client-server architecture and open system capabilities. In addition, Kapp et al. (2001), stated that the differences between ERP and MRP II is the inclusion of a variety of manufacturing processes within ERP, in which modern ERP software is able to handle both discrete work orders and flow orders, JIT and MRP, EDI, and hand-entered orders (p. 86). Wainewright (2002) also stated that MRP was used for tracking suppliers, work-in progress and the output of finished goods, while ERP was used for all type of business with additional functions including financials, payroll and human resources management. Furthermore, Kremzar and Wallace (2001) also stated that ERP is far better than MRP II for three reasons: a) ERP applies a single set of resource planning tools across the entire e nterprise, b) ERP provides real-time integration of sales, operating, and financial data, and c) ERP connects resource planning approaches to the extended supply chain of customers and suppliers. According to Koch(2002) the main reasons that companies take ERP are summarize below: Because of its Integrated Financial Information i.e. to create a single version of information which cannot be questioned because all the members of the company use the same system. The information is integrated on one system rather than scattered on many different systems that cannot communicate which each other, so that the company can track orders and can coordinate with different related departments across many different location at the same time. It standarized and speed up the process using single integated system which can save time and increase productivity. Reduces inventory by improving the observation ability of the order process inside the company. The popularity of ERP systems started to soar in 1994 when SAP, a German based company, released its next generation software known as R/3 (SAP, 2003). In the following years, companies began to pour billions into ERP systems offered by SAP and its major competitors such as Oracle, Baan, J.D. Edwards, etc. Recently, ERP vendors add more modules and functions as add-ons to the core modules giving birth to the new term i.e. extended ERPs or ERP II (Adam and Sammon, 2004). It is the enterprise systems for the 21st century. These ERP extensions include advanced planning and scheduling (APS), e-business solutions such as customer relationship management (CRM) and supply chain management (SCM) (Bhattacherjee, 2000). ERP II systems are about optimizing the supply chain through collaboration with trading partners. It crosses all sectors and segments of business, including service industries, government, and asset-based industries like mining (Turban et al. 2001). According to Zrimsek (2003), ERP II systems is web-based, open to integrate and interoperate with other systems, and built around modules or components that allow users to choose just the functionality they need. Figure 1 summarizes the historical events related with ERP. 2.3 ERP Functions, Purpose of ERP Systems Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems are software driven business management system which integrates all facets of the business, including manufacturing, planning, sales and distribution, financials and human resources (Kuang et al., 2001). It is a system that integrates all information that runs through an organisation (Davenport, 1998) and can be categorised as a large information system. It can be customised to cater the needs of an organization (Watson and Schneider, 1999). During 1990s ERP systems became the de-facto standard for replacement of legacy systems in large, and particularly multi-national companies (Parr and Shanks, 2000) ERP systems become more widely implemented, software applications are developed to help business managers implement ERP in diverse business activities such as project planning and management, subcontracting, material tracking, service, finance and human resources (tatari,2009) However, enterprise systems expanded to include back office functions (such as operations, logistics, finance, and human resources) and non transaction-based systems (Davenport, 1998) or front-office functions (such as sales, marketing, and customer service), as integral components of ERP systems (Davenport, 1998; Chen, 2001). This expansion result from the emergence of Supply Chain Optimization (SCO) (Chen, 2001), or Supply Chain Management (SCM) (Turban et al., 2001) and CRM strategies and systems (Chen, 2001), as illustrated in Figure 2. Turban et al. (2001) referred to this beyond the corporate walls integration as extreme integration (p. 304). Turban et al. (2001) further commented that in this approach to integration, SCM can be viewed as the brain and ERP as the strong body (p. 305). While the names and numbers of modules in an ERP system provided by various software vendors may differ, a typical system integrates all these functions by allowing its modules to share and transfer information freely and centralizing all information in a single database accessible by all modules (Chen, 2001). Provided in Figure 3 is an overview of an ERP system. Due to the importance of these systems in terms of added functionality over legacy systems and potential integration benefits, a large number of organisations are adopting these systems to manage their operations (Ross, 1999). They adopt these systems due to various technical or business reasons. Technical reasons include Y2K issues (myth), replacing legacy system that did not work etc. Organisations that have successfully implemented ERP systems view them as one of the most important innovations that have lead to the realization of substantial tangible and intangible improvements in a variety of areas (Davenport, 2000). Five other reasons for acquiring an ERP system are: 1) to integrate financial information, 2) to integrate customer order information, 3) to standardize and speed up manufacturing processes, 4) to reduce inventory level, and 5) to standardize Human Resource information (Koch, 2002). According to Kremzar and Wallace (2001), operating the business in a rapidly changing and highly competitive environment is the primary purpose of implementing an ERP system. Various studies have been done focussing on adoption and implementation of software applications (Harrison et al., 1997; Lassila and Brancheau 1999). However, the enterprise-wide implications, high resource commitment, high potential business benefits and risks associated with ERP systems make their implementation a much more complex exercise in innovation and change management than any other software package (Nelson and Somers, 2001; Gefen, 2000). Radding (1999) argued that when an organisation puts millions of dollars into a core business application and reengineers its business processes around it, the system is destined to become much more than an application. 2.4 General Perspective of Todays ERP Systems For over a decade the ERP system has had major impact on the manufacturing industry. Besides manufacturing companies, the ERP system has also gone further to serve the other industries. According to Boyle (2000), the ERP system is also linked with the web and e- commerce applications and beginning to use web browsers as the graphical user interface. Management was not using ERP to its full potential. Today, ERP is the foundation of businesses domestically and globally (White et al., 1999). It is used as a management tool and gives organizations a great competitive advantage (Koch, 2002). As ERP systems become more widely implemented, software applications are developed to help business managers implement ERP in diverse business activities such as project planning and management, subcontracting, material tracking, service, finance and human resources.(tatari,2009) Most of the ERP packages, today, provide multiple language and currency capabilities, allowing operations in different countries to become more integrated (Computerworld, 1998). In an era of globalization, such characteristics are very appealing for organizations desiring to expand their activities worldwide without losing control over them. The popularity of ERP is evidenced in a study that showed that nearly 19 percent of organizations across all industry sectors have installed ERP software (Computer Economics, 1999). The study also showed that the popularity of ERP continues to rise, with 34 percent of the surveyed organizations investigating, piloting, or implementing ERP packages. Davenport (1998) characterized ERP as the most important development in the corporate use of information technology in the 1990s (p. 122). 2.5 ERP Systems and Construction Organizations In the construction industry, because of the fragmented nature of the business, ERP implementation and utilization has not reached the same level as the other industrial sectors; however, the construction industry has finally awakened to importance of ERP, even though it is lagging behind other major industries that have been utilizing ERP to improve their efficiencies and bottom lines. (negahban,2008) There has been a remarkable improvement in both the speed and ability to conform to logical, customer-oriented business processes with the configurable and more flexible ERP systems (Donovan, 1998). In fact, now days, the management can chose from number of ERP products that come with multiple best practice options. The old MRP systems were very rigid as predefined business processes were embedded in the software making it difficult to adapt to the real needs of a manufacturing business (Seo, 1999). Customizing an off-the-shelf MRP system was expensive, difficult, risky and unusually time-consuming. As a result, companies had to make their order fulfilment process in such a way so as to accommodate the vendors predefined MRP software process but it greatly limits the managements ability to adjust their order fulfilment process to cope with changing customer requirements and to create a competitive advantage (Donovan, 1998). With todays developments in ERP software technology, compani es have an opportunity not only to configure business processes at much more reasonable cost and risk but also to create the opportunity for a competitive advantage (Kalakota and Robinson, 2001). The success of ERP in manufacturing enterprises resulted in its adoption by some large construction companies (ML Payton Consultants 2002; Voordijk et al. 2003). The high expectation of achieving all-round cost savings and service improvements is very much dependent on how good the chosen ERP system fits to the organizational functionalities and how well the tailoring and configuration process of the system matched with the business culture, strategy and structure of the organization. By implementing right ERP system, the organization significantly improve its entire order-to-delivery process, increase its ability to service customers at a lower cost and also better forecast its sales and other business activities, which is a competitive advantage (Harvard Business School, 1997). With ERP, it is possible to share and exchange information in digital format throughout the project life cycle. Thus, information is stored only once and all project participants are able to access this information in real-time(tatari,2009) Generally an ERP system is expected to improve both backbone and front-end functions simultaneously. Organizations decide to install ERP systems for many tangible and intangible benefits and strategic reasons. In various cases the calculation of return on investment (ROI) is weighted against the many intangible and strategic benefits (Gefen, 2000). However, to get the benefits of ERP systems, organizations need to undertake some problems and disadvantages. The advantages and disadvantages that organizations face after implementing ERP are given below: Benefits of ERP systems Integrating the organizations activities by processing a large majority of an organizations transactions (OLeary, 2001) and managing the information needs of companies (Gefen, 2000; Baskerville et al., 2000). Facilitation of intra-organization communication and collaboration (OLeary, 2001). ERP does the integrating job, allowing the business to spend less time figuring out whats going on and more time for improving (Slater, 1999). Options exist to purchase only the modules needed presently and acquire any extra modules needed in the future (Gefen, 2000). ERPs use an enterprise-wide database which allows access to the data in real time (OLeary, 2001). Both small and large companies can benefit both technically and strategically from investments in enterprise systems (Markus and Tanis, 2000) as they enable organizational standardization, eliminate information asymmetries and provide on-line and real-time information (OLeary, 2001). Disadvantages of ERP systems ERPs can have a negative impact on the work practices and culture of an organization (Allen and Kern, 2001; Soh et al., 2000). It takes an average of 8 months after the new system is installed to see any benefits (Koch et al., 1999). Lack of feature-function fit between the companys needs and the packages available (Markus and Tanis, 2000). The need for competent consulting staff to extensively customize the ERP (Gefen, 2000) to increase the acceptance of a new system. There is a need for extensive technical support prior to its actual use (Gefen, 2000). 2.6 ERP Systems Architecture ERP vendors understood the limitations of the old legacy information systems, i.e. MRP/MRPII systems, used in large enterprises of the 1970s and 1980s. Some of these old systems were developed in-house while others were developed by different vendors using several different languages, database management systems and packages, creating number of incompatible solutions unfit for the data flow between them (Seo, 1999). It was not easy to enhance the capacity of such systems or the users were unable to upgrade them with the organizations business changes, strategic goals and new information technologies (Chen, 2001). ERP systems are recognized for their databases and interdepartmental linkages. ERP structure provides a basis for MRP systems to become an enterprise integration tool (Kalakota and Robinson, 2001). Enterprise integration is viewed as developing the availability and accessibility of information within an extended corporate system and using the information system to efficientl y coordinate both the decisions and actions of thousands of individuals (Enterprise Integration Laboratory, Univ. of Toronto, 1994). To operate in an enterprise sense, the organizations need to distribute their applications for costing, planning, scheduling etc to accommodate the multiple layers of the organization, its work centers, sites, divisions and management levels (Turban et al., 2001). Multiple languages and currencies are also being included for global applications (Chase and Aquilano, 1995). The characteristics of an ERP system are as follows: Modular design containing many distinct business modules such as financial, manufacturing, accounting, distribution, etc (Davenport, 1998; Chen, 2001). Use centralized common database management system (DBMS). It is based on distributed, client/server computer systems (Wood and Caldas, 2001, p. 387). The modules are integrated and provide seamless data flow, increasing operational transparency through standard interfaces (Holland et al., 1999). It is generally complex system involving high cost (Davenport, 1998). It is flexible and offer best business practices (Davenport, 2000). It requires time-consuming tailoring and configuration setups to integrate with the business functions of company (Gefen, 2000). The various functional modules work in real time with online and batch processing capabilities (Davenport et al., 1998). Different ERP vendors offer different ERP systems with some level of specialty but the core modules are almost the same for all of them. The main ERP modules found in the successful ERP systems are as follows (Turban et al., 2001): Accounting management Financial management Manufacturing management Productio Enterprise resource planning Enterprise resource planning ERP Evaluation and Selection process. A successful ERP project requires selecting an ERP solution, implement the solution, manage changes and examine the practicality of the system, Wei and Wang, (2004). Wrong ERP solution choice would either fail the implementation or weaken the system to a greater impact on the enterprise, Hicks, (1995); Wilson, (1994). Most enterprises often jump into looking at ERP functions and features rather than examining the strategy and business processes. It is important for management to know the current strategy, processes and supporting systems compared to what they could be with the new systems, Donovan, (2001). For most enterprises, the decision to implement ERP functionalities will require buying a software package from one of the more popular vendors on ERP market like SAP and Oracle. But the selection process is not a straightforward task, hence thorough understanding of what ERP packages are to offer, differences in each of them and what might be at stake in selecting one package over the other should be well examined, Sammon and Adam, (2000). Evaluating and selecting an ERP system can be a very complex process on the other hand, but it should be a fact-based process that will bring the enterprise to the point where comfortable well-informed decisions can be made, Donovan, (2001). Thus, in an online poll conducted by ESI International survey of 2,000 business professionals, (2005), fig. 1, below, it clearly show that most software projects, ERP inclusive, failed due to lack of adequate requirements definition. In addition to the above, typical ERP project implementation can still fail due to wrong solution choice, Donovan, (2001). Therefore, a research carried out by Management Agility Inc, (2005), revealed that it is imperative to adopt a thorough evaluation and evaluation process before adopting any ERP solution in SMEs. Hence, there are eight steps detailed below in the flowchart, fig. 2, for a careful and reasonable level of a successful ERP implementation in SMEs. None of these steps must be rush through or skip to avoid any element of failure. These eight steps can be categorised into 5 stages; Planning RFP Solution Evaluation Negotiation Selection and Agreement ERP Software Hardware (Solution) Evaluation and Selection Steps Yes No Stage 4 Stage 3 Stage 2 Stage 1 Define Requirements Shop Round for Product Clarify Requirements Evaluation Vendor Inquiry Interact with Vendors Negotiate Agreement Action Agreement Define business case/need and spell-out required values. Be specific. Ensure the business sponsor is willing to push through business case for change. Look round the market for what product is available. Identify vendors that operates and their general approaches to technologies the take. Discuss with others in the same industry as you are etc. Clarify your requirements and be sure of what you are looking for in line with you business case. Refine requirements if possible and be specific too. Find out what product is looking promising in line with the business need and from which vendor. Identify which vendor and their products and invite interesting ones for demo etc. Request for proposal (RFP). Invite each shortlisted vendor over for a chat and find out more about the product. List out expectations based heavily on business requirements. At this point evaluate this approach. Can you afford to change your current process? Can you afford the change the new product will bring and many more? Initiate Negotiation for the selected product with the selected vendor. Agree on who does what, when are they to be done. Negotiate deliverables, timelines, cost payments schedules and terms, support inclusive. Review all legal terms, finalise the contract and select product for onward implementation. Alignment of business requirement to what the software/hardware can provide. This is the core of the whole exercise else stop the evaluation. Evaluate the product capabilities in line with the business requirement. Evaluate the impact of this product on the business requirement. Stage 5 Analyse Gaps Yes For effective ERP Solution evaluation and selection process, the above steps are categorised into 5 phases as explained below; Stage 1 Plan Requirement Business need is defined, along with areas in business that required technical approach. Develop a specific business case with business value for a solution. Ensure that the project sponsor is willing to articulate the business case for change. Indentify vendors that operate in the line of products you are looking for. Get familiar with the software and hardware infrastructure presence for the solution seeking. Get general view of investment needed, considering software, hardware, other related infrastructure and ongoing support. Based on the survey, evaluate the organisation readiness for the investment and decide whether to continue or not. Now define priorities under must-have and nice-to-have accordingly. Stage 2 Request for Proposals (RFP) Shortlist interesting vendor based on the outcome of market survey for products. Invite interesting vendors for interaction/demonstration of their products. Collects facts/functionalities in line with the business need from various products demonstrations for the developments of unbiased RFP for vendors. Set-up a neutral body to develop RFP using all facts gathered during products demonstration aligned to the business requirements. Distribute out RFP that addresses the vendor as a company and the products they offer. Generate basic expectations from an ideal proposal in line with the business need for onward selection of the ideal software vendor. Stage 3 Solution Evaluation Identify and prioritise remaining gaps between software capabilities as demonstrated and business requirements. Sample form in fig. 3; below. Identify how the gaps will be bridge in terms of configuration, configuration, process change or combination of all these. If the gaps cannot be bridge, then discontinue the evaluation exercise immediately. If the gaps can be bridge consider reengineering of those affected business processes affected and continue with the evaluation. Stage 4 Contract Negotiation Negotiate with each vendor. Establish software, hardware and other infrastructure agreement requirements, which include version, components, maintenance and support. Also negotiate participation in user groups, license costs, maintenance fees and many others. Establish service provider agreement which also include deliverables, timelines, resources, costs and payment schedules. Establish other legal requirements. Stage 5 Selection and Agreement Upon successful negotiation with the right vendor; Review all legal terms on privacy protection, operation guidance and data manipulation etc. Approve agreements with the selected vendors. Agree on implementation plan.