Self assessment assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Self assessment assignment - Essay Example Overall, the test was a great revelation to me, and one that will help me to improve my personal and professional life. The score was 45. This score means that most people think one is confident and in charge of their lives. However, the individual in question is not so sure, whether they are confident. This occurs when one had a difficult upbringing, especially guardians and parents who were so demanding. It can also occur when on thinks that they are not as good as people actually think they are. In relationships, such people will feel anxious and worry so much even about issues that other people would consider petty. It is also a culmination of not being able to forgive self for past mistakes (Cohen & Swerdlik, 2002). Personally, I believe the test best describes me. I have not been so confident in life; sometimes, I feign it, and people around me believe just that-that I am confident. I find it hard to get into relationships. Overall, this test depicted my situation and did not only help me to understand my self-esteem, but also the self-esteem of my close friends. The score was 76. This score means that one is likely to be a leader and set the right directions for the company. They only need to be more confident and get out of the shell. They can plan and initiate change, not only in themselves, but also in others. Leadership is a skill that can be learned and used to motivate others at the workplace and other realms of life (Cohen & Swerdlik, 2002). The score means that if only more effort is added, one can just be as passionate about honing their leadership skills, because at the end of the day leadership is learned, not acquired. Personally, the score surprised me. I have always believed that leaders are born; that they must be orators. After the score, though, I am now confident that I can compose myself and assume any leadership

Cost Estimation Practice in Construction Companies Research Proposal

Cost Estimation Practice in Construction Companies - Research Proposal Example These costs will be collected from a variety of existing real construction companies. There is inherent risk involved in all construction companies and the rate of bankruptcy in construction industry is relatively higher than in any other type of business endeavor. For any construction company to succeed or fail, the role played by quality estimation and results reliability cannot be underestimated. The final project will therefore give a description of the estimating as well as the tendering process. This process is divided into various stages that begin with acquisition of tender documents and ends with the tender submission. This project will significantly make use of computerized calculations due to the complexity of a number of formulations involved. Furthermore, this will help in data condensation and minimal use of paper work to reduce on time, human error and financial costs. Lack of proper cost estimation in construction industry is probably one of the most contentious business issues in Kuwait than in many other countries in the world. This is putting into consideration that this sector supports a very large portion of the Kuwaiti economy being among the largest industries in Kuwait, and its negligence therefore would result into a major drawback in the country’s economic growth. Provision of coherent and cogent cost estimation is vital since the larger an industry gets, the more likely chances are that cost fatalities will be incurred. This project will give a description of the estimation process within the construction companies in Kuwait and the associated problems, beginning with acquisition of tendering documents to the actual submission of the tender. It will also give and explain some examples of indirect as well as direct estimation problems. Â  

Business Analytics_Information Systems within your working environment Coursework

Business Analytics_Information Systems within your working environment - Coursework Example The organization is one of the leading employers within the global industry. In addition to this, the organization has adopted and implemented effective global business expansion, business diversification and product differentiation strategy in business operation process in order to gain potential competitive edge and maintain potential competitive advantage over its competitors. The organization has developed and installed several advanced technological applications in business operation process in order to enhance effective business operation practices. This report will discuss several aspects of the use of Enterprise Resource Planning System (ERPS) in PepsiCo including the advantages and disadvantages of the software application. Moreover, the study will determine how this specific software application has helped the management of PepsiCo to enhance effective business performance in global market places. ERPS can be considered as important business management software. It is also considered as a set of integrated software applications, which an organization can use it to source, collect, gather, store, manage, record and interpret data and information from several business activities. These business operation activities may include manufacturing or service delivery, product planning, cost planning, inventory management, marketing and sales, and shipping and payment. The major objective of this specific business management software application is to provide an incorporated view of central business process in real time period by using common databases that are maintained by a particular DBMS or database management system. This ERP system can track several business resources of an organization quite significantly. The business resources include production capacity, raw materials, cash, payroll, purchased orders and status of the business commitments. One of the major objectives of this system is to facilitate

International Business Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

International Business - Assignment Example In order to analyse the appraisal, the report focuses upon four important factors like that of motivation of IKEA for going international, the selection of the market, the entry strategy of the company in the selected market and the corporate strategy. The report also has a dedicated section reinstating the major points in the summary and conclusions. Established in the year of 1943 by a teen ager named Ingvar Kamprad (who was only seventeen years old), IKEA came a long way to be an industry leader in the arena of home products that include furniture, accessories, kitchen and bathroom all across the globe. The acronym IKEA stands for ‘Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Agunnaryd’ and is managed by a Dutch registered foundation. This retail giant has total employee strength of more than 127,000 and the core competency of the company is that of manufacturing and selling assembled furniture. The company basically works with the concept of franchisee. This leading furniture brand targets to encompass major part of the society as it believes in providing world class products to the mass. For the purpose, it inculcates the strategy of competitive pricing. The company also has strong initiatives in the aspects of social responsibilities and environmental programs along with charitable involvements. It can be said without doubt that th ese factors have been instrumental for the success of the organizational in the international market. Bank of America along with the US investment bank, Merrill Lynch is one of the world’s largest brokerage firms. It has a client asset of $ 2.2 trillion. More than 15000 financial advisors are associated with the company to serve its clients from 150 countries. In United States, its portfolio covers 99% of US fortune 500 companies and 83% of Fortune Global 500 companies. It is a global leader on services in investment banking solutions which includes global high-yield debt, global M&A, commercial lending and global equity. The investment

Define the term culturally competent organisation and elaborate what Essay

Define the term culturally competent organisation and elaborate what actions could be taken by the organisation to increase its cultural competency - Essay Example This is more relevant in service sectors, especially the health care industry. One must appreciate the uniqueness of health care industry before proceeding further. A healthcare professional needs to strike an equation with the patient before any meaningful healthcare can take place since, matching of frequency in thought, feelings and culture is essential for the patient to really start trusting a professional nurse. Unless this trust is developed and nurtured, any hope of speedy recovery can be safely forgotten. The only way such trust can take roots is through cultural compatibility. The patient must feel completely â€Å"at home† for medicines to start taking effect. (Sue, D.W. & Sue, D, 1990) A culturally competent healthcare institution accepts the difference that exists among different cultures and races and not only respects that difference but also adapts itself to serve all those who come from diverse cultures. The first step towards becoming a culturally competent healthcare organisation is to engage in deep research about different cultures and taking professional assistance from persons who are experts in the nuances of these cultures and ethnic groups. The results and findings of these researches need to be circulated in an easily intelligible format among all the healthcare professionals in the organisation so that each one of them gets the opportunity of equipping themselves to face challenges of cultural diversity. But a culturally competent organisation not only tries to adapt itself to diverse cultures of those whom they serve. They also induct such cultural diversity within their ranks by employing people from diverse cultures so that it becomes almost natural for the organisation to automatically adapt to practices prevalent in far off countries. (Cross, T.L., B.J. Bazron, K.W. Dennis, and M.R. Isaccs, 1983) Such a constructive approach towards overcoming the barrier

Case study 2 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

2 - Case Study Example a decision to edit the longer version of the movie was made in the interest of producing a shorter film that could be suitable for commercialization. This resulted in the film incurring greater losses. The major problem in the case is that there lacks proper teamwork. According to the teamwork effectiveness model, teamwork refers to a group of people who interact to influence each other, and are mutually accountable for the achievement of the common set goals and objectives (Mcshane & Steen, 2012). In this case, there was neither influencing of each other since the director worked on the film production singly nor was there common goals achievement, since the producer and the studio’s executives were working with objectives or realizing different goals. Despite the fact that most of all the financial requirements for producing the Conquistadors movie were effectively met, the final product was still not satisfactory. Teamwork was lacking throughout the whole process of filming the movie, such that the producer was left to make most of the decisions related to the film from the beginning to the end, including dictating the content of the final product. Teamwork requires cons ultations and negotiations at all stages of a project, to ensure that the interests of all parties are put into consideration (Mcshane & Steen, 2012). However, the Conquistadors majorly featured the interests of the film producer, Mark Frazier, while disregarding the interest of the Big Screen Studio. Consequently, the whole Conquistadors was produced and edited in the ideas and interests of the producer, with little or no studio contribution, resulting in its ultimate failure. Lack of proper communication is yet another problem in the case. Communication entails the process by which information is transmitted and understood by the parties (Mcshane & Steen, 2012). However, even though the producer and the executive’s of the Big Screen studio were communicating, they did not understand the

Reigh by Elizabeth I Essay Example for Free

Reigh by Elizabeth I Essay By 1571, Elizabeth I had solved most of her internal and external problems that she had faced at the beginning of her reign? Assess the validity of this view In 1558 Elizabeth inherited a throne encumbered with various internal and external problems, due to the actions in previous reigns of the ‘little Tudors’. Internal problems referred to predicaments occurring in England and personal issues with the monarch, e.g. the religious settlement of Catholicism in Mary Tudors reign and rebellions posed a significant problem of domestic policy at the beginning of Elizabeth’s reign. External problems refereed to dilemmas occurring outside of England, e.g. Mary’s loss of Calais in 1558 produced the external possibility of French invasion during Elizabeth’s reign. Along with debasement of the coinage and inflationary pressures, it is evident that Elizabeth was presented with formidable problems at the beginning of her reign. The first major internal problem faced by Elizabeth at the start of her reign was her gender. The idea of a female monarch met hostility in Tudor England and Elizabeth was faced with criticism by the Protestant preacher John Knox who wrote ‘to promote a woman to bear rule, superiority, dominion, or empire above any realm, nation or city is repugnant by nature and a insult to God.’ However Elizabeth overcame the issue of her gender in her appointment of administrators and management of political matters. Immediately after coming to the throne, Elizabeth successfully established her royal and political authority by appointing William Cecil as her principle secretary, a successful partnership in government which lasted 40 years. Elizabeth then appointed Thomas Parry as controller of the household and Robert Dudley as Master of the Horse. The appointment of her friends and supporters highlight that Elizabeth overcame her internal problem of her gender as Elizabeth had successfully established her authority, despite being a female queen she was supported by influentia l male figures, thus advocating to Tudor England that the her reign will not suffer from political instability as Edward VI and Mary I reigns did. Elizabeth was intelligent in not making any further appointments as it made political sense to keep speculation alive of Mary’s councillors being reappointed, a political motive that worked for Elizabeth as 9 of Mary councillors assured Elizabeth of their loyalty. Elizabeth then went on to reduce the number of privy councillors from 39 to 19, 10 of who had served Mary, and Elizabeth kept nobles such as the Earl of Winchester  who had long political experience and had shown his excellence as an exchequer. Reducing the number of privy councillors allowed policy making to be more efficient and created a form of collective responsibility and corporate decision making within the council, thus Elizabeth had solved the internal problem of her gender as her changes to the privy council also meant that no individual could exert huge amounts of influence over her and the fixed membership assured Elizabeth of the councillors loyalty, a issue which caused the downfall of Somerset in Edw ard VI’s reign. Thus this supports John Guys interpretation of Elizabeth that she ‘controlled her own policy more than any other Tudor’ and her ‘instinct to power was infallible’ Elizabeth further solved the issue of her gender by maintaining good relations with Parliament, Elizabeth managed some issues under royal prerogative and allowed all member of the privy council to play a role in the management of Parliament, especially Cecil who played a important role in the deliberations of the commons with C.Maccafrey describing Cecil as a ‘crowns manager of political business.’ The election of the speaker under Elizabeth’s was a strong political motive as it benefited the crown in enjoying management of the House of Commons. Thus Elizabeth had succeeded in maintaining a strong parliament; supported by John Guy view ‘legislative business was properly directed.’ Elizabeth further overcame her internal problem by using public relations to influence her political authority. At her coronation on the 15TH January Elizabeth was welcomed as Deborah ‘the judge and restorer of Israel’. To be likened to an influential female is evidence that Elizabeth overcame the issue of her gender at the beginning of her reign, as it highlights the public’s acceptance of her as Queen. However it is debated by a minority of revisionists that Elizabeth did not solve the internal problem of her gender at the beginning of her reign. This is due to the fact that during Elizabeth’s 45 year reign, Parliament only met for a total of 3 years, and 11 out of 13 parliamentary sessions were to ask for revenue. Thus this enforces the view that Elizabeth was unable to work with parliament, supported by the excessive use of royal prerogative over issues Elizabeth did not wish to discuss. It is further argued that Elizabeth did not solve the issue of her gender as she was over ruled by Cecil on many occasions, for example Cecil threatened to resign in 1560 if Engl and did not support him in Scottish policy. The issue of Bishop  Oglethorpe not elevating the host during Elizabeth’s coronation mass is further indication of the unsolved problems which were existent at the beginning of Elizabeth’s reign. However I believe that Elizabeth did overcome the issue of her gender, as unlike previous monarchs, Elizabeth was never threatened to be overpowered by one of her administrators, and according to her tutor Roger Ascham ‘her mind had no womanly weakness, her perseverance is equal to that of a man’, thus this interpretation supports the fact that Elizabeth overcame the issue of her gender due to her abilities of choosing first rate advisors and having the remarkable gift of winning the devotion of the public. A further internal problem faced by Elizabeth at the start of her reign was the religious settlement after 1558. The legal status of the church had not been altered with the death of Queen Mary thus meaning that the English church remained in communion with th e Church of Rome, however Elizabeth was protestant. Thus Elizabeth solved the internal problem of religion through the introduction of the 1559 religious settlement. The act embraced two sets of parliament, the Act of Supremacy 1559 and the Act of Uniformity 1559. The Act of Supremacy restored the royal supremacy of the church which had been removed under Mary, the act replied heresy laws which had been revived under Mary and re-established communion in both kinds. The act further defined Elizabeth to be ‘Supreme Governor’ and not Supreme Head of the church, reflecting the assumption that only God could be head of the church. The act of Uniformity specified the use of a single Book of Common Prayer, specified that ‘ornaments of the church and of the ministers thereof’ should be those that were there I the second year of the reign of Edward VI and the act further laid down a punishment of a shilling for not attending church. The 1559 religious settlement also enforced the 1559 injunctions, which were a set of rules about the conduct of church services and the government of the church issued in the Queens name as the Supreme Governor. The first injunction stressed the ‘suppression of superstition’ (catholic practises such as candles). Thus the 1559 religious settlement highlight how Elizabeth overcame the issue of religion as there was a now uniformed principles of church services. Elizabeth overcame the issue of many bishops resigning due to not being able to take the Oath of Supremacy by appointing 27 new bishops, many of whom had opposed Mary’s religious policies and would support Elizabeth in the House of Lords.  The appointment of Matthew Parker as archbishop of Canterbury was a conscious strategy to reshape the hierarchy of England and further evidence that Elizabeth overcame the religious issue left by Mary. Elizabeth’s dislike of clerical marriage and prevention of musical culture in cathedrals and catholic colleges highlights the extent to which Elizabeth created a erastian nature of the church. Although it is argued that Elizabeth did not successfully resolve the internal issue of religion as according to historians such as Peter Lake the religious settlement had a two speed view, Elizabeth’s view that the settlement was final and complete and then the view of bishops that the settlement was simply a interim arrangement and full scale reform needed to be implemented. The religious settlement was not seen final by many historians as Neale argues that the Queen was conscious of the dangerous political situation with France, and therefore used the 1559 religious settlement to gain parliamentary confirmation of royal supremacy and delay any other significant changes in her reign. The puritan challenges to the settlement are further evidence of the religious settlement not being successful. The vestments controversy occurred due to failure of the convocation of Canterbury 1563 to secure reform, thus many bishops decided they did not wish to follow the rules of clerical dr ess outlined in the Act of Uniformity as they believed the albs and copes to be ‘popish’ and ‘superstitious’. Thus the Queen summoned Parker to enforce the rules, thus Parker threatened to remove preaching licences of anyone that did not obey and in 1566 issued the ‘Advertisements’. However 37 clergymen refused to sign and were deprived of their posts, this conflict expresses that Elizabeth did not solve the issue of religion as it highlighted that the Queen could not enforce her will in all respects and highlighted fundamental issues in the relationship of the Crown and the Church. However Elizabeth succeeded in her religious settlement and overcame her internal problem, she wished not to make ‘windows into men’s souls’ and thus allowed the survival of Catholics. An external problem faced by Elizabeth at the start of her reign was the issue of her marriage and succession. When Elizabeth inherited the throne in 1558, it was assumed that she would marry a prince and continue the Tudor line, as failure to marry would bring around a troubled succession. There were a number of suitors for Elizabeth, arguably her favourite being Robert Dudley of whom she arguably had a  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœemotional dependency’ on, however the suspicious death of his wife Amy led to the marriage never occurring, which pleased Cecil who was horrified at the prospect of his own power and influence being eroded. Thus Elizabeth chose not to marry and not to choose a successor, however she overcame the internal problem of this. By remaining unmarried, her authority remained undiminished and Elizabeth maximized the diplomatic advantages from the prolonged marriage negotiations. She used marriage talks as a form of foreign policy, e.g. marriage talks with the Habsburgs minimised the possible Catholic backlash to her Religious Settlement, and she gained financial benefits from Eric of Sweden. Not naming a successor also had benefits for Elizabeth, as it avoided any factions arising in the privy council and any unnecessary competitions for influence and power, as Elizabeth once commented ‘if my successor were known to the world, I would never esteem my state to be safe†. Although it can be argued that as Elizabeth died the virgin queen, she did not solve the issue of her marriage and succession due to never being married. As Elizabeth did not produce her own natural protestant heir, Elizabeth faced real threats from Mary Queen of Scots. Many English Catholics supported Mary’s claim to the throne and when Mary arrived in England there were several plots to dethrone or assassinate Elizabeth including the Ridolfi, Throckmorton and Babington plots. Although after Elizabeth’s death, James Stewart inherited the throne in a unchallenged succession, thus Elizabeth had solved the problem. The issue of foreign policy was Elizabeth’s biggest external problem during her reign. Elizabeth had inherited the throne at a time where finances were weak, with Sir John Mason declaring ‘our state can no longer bear these wars’. Thus Elizabeth wanted to secure Calais and conclude peace with the Scottish Queen as Elizabeth commented that â €˜the greatest burden of these wars resteth uponth Scotland’. Thus Elizabeth resolved issues of foreign policy in her reign by the signing of the Chaetae Cambersis in 1559 which brought peace along England, Scotland, France and Spain, France would retain Calais for eight years and then would be returned to England providing England had kept peace. However external problems of foreign policy occurred again after the death of Henry II who was succeeded by his son Francis who was married to Mary Queen of Scots. This led to a strong guise faction in France who sought to make Scotland an instrument of French policy making.. Thus England was  faced with the threat of invasion from Scotland and France. However Elizabeth resolved this issue by sending the Navy to the firth of forth to block French reinforcements from landing and sending an army to Leith where the bulk of the French force were situated. Elizabeth’s intervention meant the siege failed, and in 1560 the Treaty of Edinburgh was signed which forced Mary Queen of Scots to recognise E lizabeth as Queen and effectively weakened the Franco-Scottish alliance. Elizabeth had also succeeded in foreign policy with Spain as she avoided having a civil war with Spain, the policy of harassment by taking money from Spanish ships in Cornwell and Devon strengthened England’s finances. However it can be argued that Elizabeth did not solve the issue of foreign policy, Anglo Spanish and Anglo Dutch relations came to a halt after the Spanish harassments meaning that loyalty with Phillip had disintegrated thus Phillip began to support plots against Elizabeth such as the Ridolfi plot and the 1569 Northern Rebellion. Although I believe Elizabeth did solve her external problem to a small extent, as relations were improved but would still be another 14 years until Elizabeth could feel secure from threats to English stability. Thus at the end of her 45 year long reign, it is concrete to state that Elizabeth did successfully conquer most of her external and internal problems she faced at the beginning of her reign. Known as the ‘Golden Age’ by many historians Elizabeth was able to establish a secure Church of England and her reign also saw significant expansion overseas. Great explorers were encouraged such as Sir Francis Drake, Sir Walter Raleigh, and Sir John Hawkins. She achieved an excellent reputation as a good and wise ruler, who was truly loved by her people she was highly accomplished in the art of rhetoric and Public Relations Queen Elizabeth I surrounded herself with highly intelligent and loyal advisors such as Sir William Cecil, Sir Francis Walsingham and Sir Robert Cecil who gave her sound political advice and unlike the reigns of Edward and Mary, Elizabeth was able to expand overseas. Thus the internal and external problems at the beginning of reign soon became insignificant hurdles for the great queen, whose monarch is still described by historians today to be the greatest monarch in England.