Four Seasons Hotel and Resort Sales Analysis

Importance of Cities in the Society Essays

Importance of Cities in the Society Essays Importance of Cities in the Society Essay Importance of Cities in the Society Essay Cities had always been a part of the society. â€Å"The city is the point of concentration of the power and culture of a community (What is a City).† Oftentimes, cities are considered as the central area where most changes first took place. Changes in the city bring forth changes in the society. No matter what alteration it may be (whether technological, cultural or economic changes), these inevitably leads the society towards a step of transformation. Needless to say that the advancement in cities also paves the way towards the advancement of the society.As everyone would say, ‘change is the only constant thing in the world.’ Through the advent of industrialization, rapid urbanization occurred. Accompanying urbanization is the dawn for more sophisticated technologies thus altering the environment in which people live in (Simon 2007, 75). During the early civilization, the characteristics of man’s way of living are very simple. Their society was also characterized as plain. But cities had opened the opportunity of changing this simple lifestyle into a modern and easier one. The said social unit (city) had played a vital role in the development of new technologies. Most people choose to live in cities with the hope that they would be able to have an access to these various technologies and would therefore improved there way of living.This product of advancement (technology) can be reflected in various fields such as in the workplace as well as in the learning place. Schools throughout the cities had been highly equipped with modern gadgets therefore improving the learning process (Young 2005, A32). ICT or the Information and Communication Technology, which was first introduced in the urban places had opened the opportunity to what is so called on line learning and enhances the learning process through providing numerous information resources and introducing a new way of communication with other students as well as with tutors (Keogh 2001,223).   The ICT was also found to be useful for people from remote areas as well as for disabled people to have an access in education. Innovations commencing in the city had been advantageous to most people (in terms of learning) in the society. Furthermore, technological innovations have also improved the way of communication and socialization of individuals.The historical identities present in cities made this social unit as the center of metropolitan regions and the center for foreign exchange and economic growth’ (Clark, 1995). It was reported that almost ‘half of the population now lives in cities (Madanipour 2006, 175). Alongside with this trend, is the issue of globalization and its implication on the economy of the country. Most business as well as political transactions takes place in the city. â€Å"What is mistakenly considered as a place-less process of globalization takes shape and unfolds in the city â€Å"(Madanipour 2006, 176). Through globalization, the society is also benefited. Opportunities for personal economic growth would take place therefore improving lives of the people. Collectively, the improved state of individuals will in effect improve the society’s condition.Advancement of the society can be coined from the advancement in the cities. Cities serve as the major region for improvement and creation of new technologies to occur. With modern facilities comes a modern way of living. Through these improvements and advancements, the society is also affected and shifted to a more sophisticated and modern one. Furthermore, cities had been the center region for economic growth to take place and economic growth would in effect trigger the competitiveness of the society. Without the city as a channel for several changes to occur, our society would not be as superior as we are experiencing it today. Can we deal with the simplicity of life that our ancestors had before? How would the country (a nd the world) advance if innovations in the cities did not take place? Certainly, these questions answer the depth of importance of the cities in molding our society. Cities play a vital role in shaping today’s society and if we let these cities to deteriorate, ‘there are hidden costs that will mount.’

Fashion, Culture and Tibetan Buddhism Research Paper

Fashion, Culture and Tibetan Buddhism - Research Paper Example The essay "Fashion, Culture and Tibetan Buddhism" will study the relationship that exists between Tibetan Buddhism (its culture and religion) and fashion, while comparing it with Islam and its influence on fashion. In the context of fashion and social identity, observations revealed that an individual interacts with fashion in a same manner he/she interacts with other people, thus using fashion to reveal what he/she wants to personify. The direct contact between the wearer and various fashion elements (such as, clothes and other accessories) help to establish a personal identity. Since fashion tends to portray the link between physical materials (such as, clothes and jewelry) and the wearer’s personal values, there is also a close connection between fashion and one’s self-perception. Fashion affects the wearer’s self-perception, thus acting like a filter, positioning itself between society and the wearer. Observations revealed that generally, physical bodies are viewed as social symbols, where female bodies form an important mechanism for preserving social and cultural traditions; wherein majority of the conservative religions tend to dictate stringent norms for female fashion . While establishing personal identities, fashion also helps in constructing social status and position, where it is presumed that fashion is a true reflection of the wearer’s self and lifestyle. The strict sociocultural rules governing fashions are often visible as laws of the land that force people (primarily women). to follow rigid social standards in the context of clothing, and often giving rise to a social tension between conformists and dissidents (Voss, 405-407). In such instances, it is evident that culture plays a dominating role and fashion becomes a strong tool in hands of the conservatives, which is used for gender subjugation and social control, a condition prevalent in the Islamic countries. On the other hand, social dissidents also use fashion t o symbolize their breakaway from rigid socio-cultural and religious norms. Therefore, fashion is closely related to different aspects of the culture and society from which it originates and subsequently represents. Tibetan history, culture and fashion Tibetan culture  has evolved through the influence of various external factors. Tibet had established trade connections with India and China from the ancient times, and these two countries have produced a significant effect on its cultural development. Tibet’s  inaccessibility, owing to its remote location, has however helped to preserve certain local influences that make it stand apart from both India and China. In terms of religion, Buddhism  has a strong influence on the socio-cultural aspects of Tibet, since its introduction in the country as early as the seventh century. Music, literature, art, clothing and almost all aspects of the Tibetan life strongly reflect presence of Buddhist values and beliefs. In Tibet, Buddh ism has developed its own unique form, which adopted the  Bon cultural tradition, interspersed with various local beliefs. According to

Socrates Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Socrates - Essay Example listening to both sides of the argument rejects the study of language altogether declaring it shallow and shoddier than the study of things themselves. If we go into the details of this argument, Plato’s seems to argue that nothing significant can be known about a particular thing by examining its name Keller(2000,pp. 285-305) . The actual worth of a thing lies in itself which seems convincing to some extent. However, at the same time, it seems a bit irrational to assume that the words or names have an intrinsic relation to the things they signify .A same thing can be viewed differently by different individuals depending on his mind set. It certainly will not be wrong to say that it is all a matter of perception. For instance, the word ugly sounds ugly but it certainly does not signify the essence of the thing it is referring to and it sounds ugly only because it has been inculcated in our minds from the beginning of our lives thereby making Hermogenes’ argument stronge r Robinson(1956,pp. 325). Even the educational psychology reveals that it is not the verbal utterances but the behavioral patterns that have a deep impact on a person’s mind. Socrates argument, on one hand, sounds convincing but on the other hand, the importance of language cannot be denied altogether and I firmly believe that the two of them go hand in hand. It is indeed more important to go into the depth of the thing itself in order to study it extensively, however, language is an essential medium to give one’s thoughts a voice with interesting corollary which basically is the most significant attribute of mankind and giving them equal importance sounds a lot better than the Socrates’ argument of rejecting the language altogether. Hence, it can be said that the name of a thing may not be as important as the thing itself but a thing without any apparent identity of its own makes it hard to describe. In fact, the plot of the argument shows a contrast between wh at Socrates is defending in

Nurses dealing with the death of their patient Essay

Nurses dealing with the death of their patient - Essay Example There are several tips that can help those entering the nursing field for the first time and who need guidance on how to handle death and the bereaved family once the death of one of their patients occurs. The tips will be discussed in detail below. The first thing to always remember and put in mind is that death is inevitable for anyone no matter whether the patient had signs to die or not. This therefore calls for acceptance once it happens. Acceptance is not always easy but reminding oneself that the patient wherever he or she is has no more pain and is better off comprises acceptance. One has also to think about the rest of the people who are living and how lucky they are to be alive and this will help with the acceptance process. There is no time limit for this process of acceptance just as there is no time limit for grieving (Kasher, 2009). The other thing the nurse has to remember is that everyone is allowed to grieve and in whichever way they want to as long as if it is in the workplace, one has to still maintain professionalism unless under closed doors, in the presence of a counselor or fellow nurses who have also undergone the same thing in the past or more often. One can shed tears in the work place and once at home, they can fully grieve and breakdown. Grieving even though is another step of acceptance is a channel to express the feelings of pain, anger and unhappiness that come with death. Talking is another way to cope with bereavement of a patient. Talking can be with family members, with grief professional, with other nurses who have had to undergo the same during their career or even with close friends and spouse as long as they understand. It helps to talk to people who will not judge but who will be understanding and considerate of your feelings and hence the coworkers and grief counselor are the best. Talking will also help to heal quickly and move on so that you will be able to pay more attention to the rest of the loving patients who

Project Management and Business Strategies

Project Management and Business Strategies ABSTRACT Which way to go? This is a question that organizations will ask themselves in a certain time, because organizations are faced with challenges of strategic direction. Some organizations are instigated by challenging opportunities, other organizations want to overcome significant threats. The business strategy can move an organization from where it is now, to where it needs to be in the future. Johnson et al (2009) states that the strategy of an organization is often likely to be complex, uncertain and mostly it affects operational decisions and requires an integrated approach. But the most typically and crucial components of strategy are change and innovation. Project management is essential for managing and reducing the inherent risk associated with change and innovation. Thats why many projects are the result of strategic decisions of organizations, because projects manage changes on an effectively and efficiently way. Changing organizations need projects for making change and for obtaining its business strategy and -objectives. Nowadays sustainability is a very hot (strategic) item for organizations. Organizations are integrating ideas of sustainability in their marketing, corporate communications, business strategy and in their actions. Centraal Boekhuis, a (leading) logistics service provider in stocking, storage, distribution and transportation of books, has also formulated a covering policy on sustainability for the strategy period 2009-2011 (Board of directors Centraal Boekhuis (2009)). Sustainability for Centraal Boekhuis means commitment to corporate environmental performances as well as sustainable performances on social and economic aspects. Several projects on behalf of sustainability will be conducted as well as projects will be conducted on behalf of other strategic targets. But is it possible to make project management sustainable, in order to make other projects contribute to the policy on sustainability too? In this research the relation between project management and the pursuing of the realization of business strategies will be looked at. Then the main research question will be answered: how will the business strategy influence the selection and execution of project management within organizations, and how will this in consequence lead to sustainable project management? The hypothesis is that when project management is constructed and selected in accordance with the business strategy, and more specifically linked with sustainable business strategy, projects will contribute to the realization of the business strategies as well as it subsequently will contributes to sustainability. The actual research will be executed through a web survey among several organizations as well as a case study of Centraal Boekhuis, which contains in-depth interviews with about 10 representatives project employees from Centraal Boekhuis. The research will also contain the study of qualitative data, for exampl e the study of documentation and reports that are in stock within the company about strategy, project management and sustainability. 1. INTRODUCTION BACKGROUND 1.1 Introduction To understand project management within organizations it is important to understand projects. The Prince2 Foundation (2005) defines a project as a temporary organisation that is needed to produce a unique and predefined outcome or result at a pre-specified time using predetermined recourses. In practice projects bring recourses, skills, technology and ideas together to achieve business objectives and deliver business benefits. But why is there a need for projects within organizations? Organizations are continuously striving after agility and success by for example introducing new products and services or by improving business processes or activities. Many projects are the result of organizations that wants to manage such changes on an effectively and efficiently way. According to Bryan Atkin and Adrian Brooks (2009), Change Management is the key towards innovation of organizations. In order to make progress and achieve greater efficiency and better value for money and to be more effective or competitive, organizations have to do things differently and have to make changes. Maylor (2005) stresses that Project management is essential for managing and reducing the inherent risks associated with change and innovation. Changing organizations need projects for making change. Recently Johnson et al. (2009) gives an interesting definition on business strategy. The definition describes that strategy contains the direction and scope of an organization over the long term, for achieving advantage in a changing environment throughout configuration of resources and competences with the aim of fulfilling stakeholders expectations. Aforementioned definition displays that the fundamental principle of making changes of organizations can be the result of aiming towards targets that contributes to the fulfilment of the business strategy. In practice this means that organisational changes and the application of project management for realising those changes can thus be the result of the long term direction and scope of an organization. Simply said; project management can move an organization from where it is now, to where it needs to be in the future to meets its business strategy and -objectives. As mentioned above the management of projects within organization is among other things related to its business strategy, but how will the business strategy influences the selection and the execution of project management within organizations and how can project management thus contributes to the realization of the business strategy? For example, The board of directors of Centraal Boekhuis (2009) has formulated a covering policy on sustainability for the strategy period 2009-2011. Several projects on behalf of sustainability will be conducted as well as projects will be conducted on behalf of other strategic targets. But is it possible to realize more strategic focus, by linking all projects to the business strategy of an organization? This leads to the main research question of the thesis: how will the business strategy influence the selection and execution of project management within organizations, and how will this in consequence lead to sustainable project management? Another interesting question will be: if project management is constructed and selected in accordance with the business strategy, and more specifically linked with sustainable business strategy, will projects contribute to the realization of the business strategies as well as it subsequently will contributes to sustainability? 1.2 The organization; Centraal Boekhuis Centraal Boekhuis is a (leading) logistics service provider in stocking, storage, distribution and transportation of books. More than 500 publishers and over 1500 booksellers use the service facilities for distribution, transportation, information and administration. For publishers is Centraal Boekhuis the entry into the Dutch and Flemish (book) markets. For booksellers in the Netherlands and Flanders, Centraal Boekhuis is the provider of the assortment of Dutch-language books, general as well as educational or scientific books, and a selected range of foreign-language books (staff directory guide Centraal Boekhuis, 2007). Besides taking care of stocking, storage, distribution and transportation of books, Centraal Boekhuis also offers administrative or financial services. For publishers the company organizes complete stock and sales recording, invoicing and debt collection. Booksellers as well benefit from a broad range of information technology services. The majority of Centraal Boekhuis services are integrated in a single automated system (CB Online), so customers have access to the operational and management information they need, focused on their companys business processes. Upon request, Centraal Boekhuis will also arrange the storage, distribution and transport of office supplies, stationary and greeting cards. All logistic activities and processes are linked with the transport centres delivery network. The centres range of services includes processing special offers and returned goods, (temporary) storage, order picking and carrying out special mailing campaigns with value-added logistics. The Transport Centre of Centraal Boekhuis organizes transport from and to countries outside the Benelux. In England is a consolidation point bounded, where shipments from 1600 English publishers intended for Dutch bookshops are collected and forwarded to the Netherlands. This enables Centraal Boekhuis to offer customers attractive services. Shipments from Germany and America are transported along similar lines. History For over 135 years Centraal Boekhuis have been the logistic partner in the Dutch book trade. In 1871 the Vereeniging ter Bevordering van de Belangen des Boekhandels (VBBB) in Amsterdam lay the foundations for Het bestelhuis van de Nederlandsche Boekhandel, presently called Centraal Boekhuis. Publishers send their boxes with books to that warehouse of books, where the boxes were distributed across the Netherlands. Many years later, in 1926, the VBBB decided to found Centraal Boekhuis in Amsterdam. Well-established publishers were obliged to store their books in the central depot of Centraal Boekhuis in Amsterdam. From now on the book stores and publishers could order their books with Centraal Boekhuis from one central point in the Netherlands. In 1973, because lack of space, Centraal Boekhuis grounded their company in Culemborg, where the company nowadays is still grounded. In that same year is Het Bestelhuis and Centraal Boekhuis merged into one company: Centraal Boekhuis B.V (Intranet Centraal Boekhuis, 2008). Organization The daily management of Centraal Boekhuis is directed by the Senior Management Team (SMT). The lead direction of the 5 Senior Managers is directed by a Chief Executive Officer, namely Hans Willem Cortenraad. They have weekly meetings to discuss the company policy and how this policy is best directed to the line managers. Centraal Boekhuis in figures (2009) Full time employees: 579 Publishers: 500 Booksellers: 1500 Available Dutch titles: 80,000 Number of copies delivered per year: 60,000,000 Number of delivery addresses per day: 2500 Number of packages transported per year: 4,500,000 Number of pallets transported per year: 300,000 2. PROBLEM STATEMENT RESEARCH QUESTION According to Project Management Institute and Morris (2006) oorganizations often want efficiency, good financial results and success and they want it fast. It is for that matter that organizations generally focus on short-term results, such as immediate realizable financial goals. However, Centraal Boekhuis for example expects also from its employees to achieve results that corresponds to the overall long term objectives of the business strategy. This contradiction pointed me in the direction to ask myself if it is possible to operate more efficiently if the portfolio of projects is continuously linked to the business strategy of Centraal Boekhuis. My hypothesis subsequently is that the overall business strategy will be the input for the project portfolio planning and in turn, project success impacts the goals and objectives of the business strategy. Nevertheless, the solution isnt that easy. For instance, organizations are nowadays more often integrating ideas of sustainability in business strategies. It is for that matter unavoidable that there will be projects related to sustainable strategy, namely environmental or social projects. However, will projects on behalf of other strategic objectives also be sustainable? Thats why I assume that when project management is constructed and selected in accordance with the business strategy, and more specifically linked with sustainable business strategy, projects will positively contribute to the realization of strategies as well as it subsequently will contributes to sustainability. [2] The main question and hypothesis will be clarified for a reasonable interpretation of the research construction and approach. In this research the relation between project management and the pursuing of the realization of business strategies will be looked at. Foresaid leads to the following research question: what is the impact of the business strategy on the selection and execution of project management within organizations, and will this possible influence in consequence lead to sustainable project management? The hypothesis is: when project management is constructed and selected in accordance with the business strategy, and more specifically linked with sustainable business strategy, projects will positively contribute to the realization of the business strategies as well as it will positively contributes to sustainability; the result subsequently is that the overall business strategy will be the input for the project portfolio planning and in turn, project success impacts the goals and objectives of the sustainable business strategy. Why is it so important to link the project management of an organization to its business strategies, in order to make projects sustainable? As stated by Johnson et al (2009) it is ultimately the fulfilling of the business strategy to aim on the fulfilling of the expectations of the stakeholders. If an organization have stated sustainability within their business strategies, stakeholders are involved in monitoring if the strategy is achieved the objectives and if there is corrective action needed. This is called strategic control and it will keep an organization in track with its achievements on behalf of its strategy (and also sustainable strategy). According to foresaid it is plausible that it is important to state sustainability in the business strategy, for making sure that projects will meet the objectives and goals of sustainable strategy. 3. GOALS OBJECTIVES I will try to find out if a business strategy, specifically a sustainable business strategy, can positive influence the way on how projects will be selected and executed, as I expect it to be. I will test the hypothesis that the overall business strategy will be the input for the project portfolio planning and in turn, project success impacts the goals and objectives of the sustainable business strategy, to see if it is possible to make project management sustainable. If so, this offers an interesting new insight in sustainable project management, which could be the basis for more research. First it is important to study literature to get familiar with the several subjects of this thesis. The several subjects that will be described are project management, business strategy and of course overall sustainability. Next I will try to describe the multifarious relative contexts between the several subjects described in the literature, in order to make my hypotheses plausible. The most important objective of the literature review is to create an elementary basic assumption for further research. Furthermore the research methodologies that I will use are a case study research and a web survey. For the execution of the case study research are various data (re)sources used, namely in-depth interviews and the study of business documentation and reports. The case study research methodology will be used to get insights in how Centraal Boekhuis arranges its business strategy, especially how it is arranged towards its project management. Then it is important to look at how the sustainable policy of Centraal Boekhuis affects the daily operations as well as the sustainable policy affect its project management. For comparison and further research I will send a web survey to approximately 100 companies with sustainability stated in their business strategy. Hopefully this will give me insights in how other companies arrange their project management related to its business strategy and maybe they have certain methodologies to make project management sustainable, so I have some interesting data to work with. My research will focus on project management, business strategies, sustainability and sustainable project management in an attempt to find relative contexts to integrate business strategy and projects in order to facilitate development of sustainable project management. Overall I hope that the executed research will create a certain frame work for linking project management to the overall business strategy of an organization, in order to make project management sustainable. 4. LITERATURE REVIEW As mentioned earlier my research will focus on project management, business strategies, sustainability and sustainable project management. Therefore the theoretical background of my research will also be focused on foresaid topics. 4.1 Business Strategy The traditional literature about business strategy is often about the general definitions of business strategy, where organizations focus on where they want to be on the long term (mission and vision) and how this is achieved (goals and objectives) (Alblas Wijsman, 2001) in order to gain competitive advantages. The current literature about strategy describes more that strategy is about the importance of achieving advantage in a changing environment throughout configuration of resources and competences with the aim of fulfilling stakeholders expectations (Johnson et al., 2009). Aforementioned shows that the current literature on business strategies discusses the importance of the characteristic aspects change and configuration (Kloosterboer, 2005). The relative context between business strategy and changes is an important aspect that must be taken into account before I continue my research. According to Bryan Atkin and Adrian Brooks (2009), Change Management is the key towards innovation of organizations. In order to make progress and achieve greater efficiency and better value for money and to be more effective or competitive, organizations have to do things differently and have to make changes. Harvey Maylor (2003) characterizes project management as essential aspect for managing and reducing the inherent risks associated with change and innovation. Therefore changing organizations need projects for making change. 4.2 Project Management The Prince2 Foundation (2005) recognizes that organizations are continuously striving after agility and success by for example introducing new products and services or by improving business processes or activities. Many projects are the result of organizations that wants to manage such changes on an effectively and efficiently way. Furthermore Prince2 (2005) defines a project as a temporary organisation that is needed to produce a unique and predefined outcome or result at a pre-specified time using predetermined recourses. In practice projects bring recourses, skills, technology and ideas together to achieve business objectives and deliver business benefits. According to the International Project Management Association (2006), professional project management is broken down into the following three competences (see also figure one): Technical competences for project management; behavioral competences of project personnel; and the contextual competences of projects programmes and portfolio. The technical competence covers the techniques of project management, for example the practice of Prince2. The behavioral competence represents the professional behavior of the project personal, like project management skills. The contextual competence is the linkage between the project and organizations involved. The vision on project management by IPMA in the International Competence Baceline presented in October 2006 will be critically looked at for my research. This project management approach will also be studied and discussed during the master program of the Master of Facilities Management and Real Estate. The eye of competence figures the integra tion of the elements of project management as seen trough the eyes of the project manager. So the essence of project management is to support the execution of an organizations strategy to deliver a considered necessary outcome (Clifford and Gray, 2002). The research of recent literature shows us that project management is nowadays recognized as one of the primary business processes (Atkin Brooks, 2009). It is for that matter that organisational changes and the application of project management for realising those changes must be linked to the overall business strategy of an organization, in order to accomplish the business goals and objectives. Simply said; project management can move an organization from where it is now, to where it needs to be in the future to meets its business strategy and -objectives. For this thesis I will mainly focus on the SWOT analysis, because this management and strategy tool is used by Centraal Boekhuis for defining its strategy. The SWOT analysis can be used as a strategy formulation tool. It helps organizations to identify its Strengts, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT). The Strengths and Weaknesses represent the internal factors that create value or can destroy value. Opportunities and Threats are the external factors that can influence the organization value (Ahaus, 2005). 4.3 Business Strategies vs. Project Management According to Sabin Srivannaboon (2006), previous research on project management and its relation with business strategy mostly links the project management with business strategy through critical project selection, viewing it as part of the alignment process (For example Bard, Balachandra Kaufmann (1988); Cooper, Edgett Kleinschmidt (1998); Englund Graham (1999) etc). Also often displayed in previous research is project portfolio management. This is another concept suggested in the literature to ensure the strategic alignment of project management and business strategy and it is defined as a dynamic decision-making process, which an organization can update and revise its list of active projects (see for literature: Turner Simister (2000); Cooper, Edgett Kleinschmidt (1998) etc.). Current literature shows us more about the research that has been done on the alignment of project management with business strategies of organizations, for example research of Sabin Srivannaboon (2006) , Tony Grundy (2001) Peter Morris Ashley Jamison (2004) etc. 4.4 Sustainability sustainable project management On Wednesday the 4th of November, member of the House of Representatives Esmà © Wiegman talks about faith in Sustainability and vice versa, please note: in church! That sustainability has even penetrated the Christian church sais a lot. We are all confronted with it and action is expected of us. Sustainability is a hot item, that is no surprise. Looking at the quotes mentioned below you can conclude that there is no process in an organization that is not interfered with sustainability items. â€Å"Managers are more and more beginning to consider the environment as an additional parameter on which they base their decisions.† (North, 1997) That is what Klaus North wrote is his environmental business management introduction in 1997. And Carin Labuschagne wrote almost a decade later: â€Å"Various driving forces originating from society, government employees and business partners are forcing companies to both incorporate sustainable development in their business practices as well as to align all internal operations and practices with the principles thereof.† (Labuschagne, 2005). Sustainability, what does that really mean? Norwegian prime minister Gro Harlem Brundtland formulated it as followed; â€Å"The development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs†. As Labuschagne already said, there is no process in an organization that is not interfered with aspects of sustainability. Project management is just one of these processes that cannot be ignored. That is also made clear in the APM sustainable outlooks, where is mentioned that they are considering a database with project and programme managers who have specialist knowledge, experience and expertise in sustainability issues generally or by specific sectors, locations or types of project. They also plead for the triple bottom line approach in every project. The triple bottom line approach includes environmental, social and economical sustainability (APM, sustainable outlooks). As organizations become more and more focused on environmental responsibilities, project managers cannot stay behind. (Zoyd Reed Luce) Where sustainability is grounded in almost every strategy of every large organization, this automatically is reflected in the projects of an organization. Project manager are forced to focus on sustainability these days, it becomes part of the project. 4.5 Theoretical Framework for aligning projects with strategy There are several articles expanding on the idea that there should be a certain focus on the corporate strategy when managing projects, for example the articles of Tony Grundy (2001) or Morris and Jamison (2004). Milosevic and Srivannaboon (2006) support this vision in their article and wrote an article which describes a theoretical framework for aligning project management with strategy. Milosevic and Srivannaboon have developed an empirically based theoretical framework that explains the impact of business strategy on project management and vice versa and discusses how mechanisms can be used to strengthen that alignment. As discussed earlier, strategy is about the importance of achieving advantage in a changing environment throughout configuration of resources and competences with the aim of fulfilling stakeholders expectations and defending it against competitive forces (Johnson et al., 2009). Milosevic and Srivannaboon have based their theoretical framework on the vision of Porter (1980) about Generic Business Strategies. Michael Porter states that to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage, an organization must chose a certain type of strategy. Porters generic strategies distinguishes three types of strategies, namely cost leadership, differentiation, and cost focus (see figure 3). Competitive advantage can only be achieved by choosing one of these strategies. If an organization chooses to pursue more than one generic strategy, it will perform being badly without competitive advantage and Porter refers to that as being ‘stuck in the middle. Milosevic and Srivannaboon use cost leadership, differentiation, and best cost as the primary focus of their analysis. They also use Shenhars strategic project leadership framework which consist of project elements like project strategy, project organization, project process and tools metrics and culture. Differentiation is about organizations pursuing a differentiation strategy by offering products and services that are unique from competition in order to satisfy the desires of their customers. This differentiation allows the organization to charge a premium price (Porter, 1980). Cost Leadership is about organizations pursuing a cost leadership strategy to gain competitive advantage and increase market share by operate with lower costs than competition, for example tight cost controls e.g. efficient facilities (Porter, 1980). Best cost (also called focus niche) is about organizations creating a sustainable competitive advantage through combining cost leadership and differentiation. This can be realized by offering a unique product or service to a special market segment and seek to offer low cost products within a special market segment (fast time-to-market, superior product quality, etc.). According to Milosevic and Srivannaboon the competitive aspects of the business strategy drive the focus of the project management elements. They see a pattern in project management elements for the differentiation of business strategy. Their research indicates that organizations can align projects with business strategies into three levels, namely the strategic level, the tactical level, and the corrective emergent strategic feedback. The first level of this framework (typified as mediating process at the strategic level) is the first step of the alignment process. At level 1 organization should use their intended strategy and select projects into their portfolio to determine the right projects that would contribute to the organizations strategy. The second level (typified as mediating process at the project level) involves the further planning of project details to ensure that alignment with the project life-cycle phases (Shenhars project classification) is realized. Proper alignment of projects with strategy during the project life cycle can be classified as the planning process and the monitoring process. Managers should develop a project management plan that has a certain focus on the business strategy. The third level (mediating process at the emergent strategic feedback level) is a process which uses stages, or also called stage gates or milestone, for evaluating or reviewing the project status on time, cost, and performance. These project stages are points in the project life cycle where projects transition from one stage to another. These stages provide project teams the opportunity to realign the project to its business strategy. 5. RESEARCH DESIGN 5.1 Research methods Based on the literature of Baarde and Goede (2001), the research on behalf of this thesis is categorized in a preliminary research study, a literature review, a case study research and a web survey. For the execution of the case study research are various data (re)sources used, namely in-depth interviews and the study of business documentation and reports of Centraal Boekhuis. The preliminary research study has given multifarious insights in for example the company of the case study, but also insights about project management and the business strategy of the concerning organization. In the preliminary research study is a critically literature review completed and several managers of the human resource division have been interviewed for creating a basis for this research. The products of the preliminary research study are a defined approach of the case study research, a description of the company and a defined approach of the web-survey. The case study research can be categorized in descriptive- and exploratory research study methods (Sanders et al, 2009). The descriptive study of this case study is defined by the research of qualitative data, for example the study of business documentation and reports that are in stock within the company about project management, its business strategy and sustainability. The exploratory part of the research describes the research methods in depth interviews and a web survey. In order to test how organizations work with project management related to its (sustainable) business strategy, two steps will be carried out. First, on Tuesday March 6, I will send a web survey to approximately 15 companies with sustainability stated in their business strategy. This short questionnaire will offer me data on the way the concerning companies arranges their project management related to the business strategies, to test on how the companies makes their projects sustainable. In order to increase the number of responses and to raise the chances of the answering the questions themselves, I will keep the survey very short, and stress this in the attached e-mail. Second, I will arrange in-depth interviews with about ten representatives of project management employees of the project department of Centraal Boekhuis. In these interviews, I will attempt Project Management and Business Strategies Project Management and Business Strategies ABSTRACT Which way to go? This is a question that organizations will ask themselves in a certain time, because organizations are faced with challenges of strategic direction. Some organizations are instigated by challenging opportunities, other organizations want to overcome significant threats. The business strategy can move an organization from where it is now, to where it needs to be in the future. Johnson et al (2009) states that the strategy of an organization is often likely to be complex, uncertain and mostly it affects operational decisions and requires an integrated approach. But the most typically and crucial components of strategy are change and innovation. Project management is essential for managing and reducing the inherent risk associated with change and innovation. Thats why many projects are the result of strategic decisions of organizations, because projects manage changes on an effectively and efficiently way. Changing organizations need projects for making change and for obtaining its business strategy and -objectives. Nowadays sustainability is a very hot (strategic) item for organizations. Organizations are integrating ideas of sustainability in their marketing, corporate communications, business strategy and in their actions. Centraal Boekhuis, a (leading) logistics service provider in stocking, storage, distribution and transportation of books, has also formulated a covering policy on sustainability for the strategy period 2009-2011 (Board of directors Centraal Boekhuis (2009)). Sustainability for Centraal Boekhuis means commitment to corporate environmental performances as well as sustainable performances on social and economic aspects. Several projects on behalf of sustainability will be conducted as well as projects will be conducted on behalf of other strategic targets. But is it possible to make project management sustainable, in order to make other projects contribute to the policy on sustainability too? In this research the relation between project management and the pursuing of the realization of business strategies will be looked at. Then the main research question will be answered: how will the business strategy influence the selection and execution of project management within organizations, and how will this in consequence lead to sustainable project management? The hypothesis is that when project management is constructed and selected in accordance with the business strategy, and more specifically linked with sustainable business strategy, projects will contribute to the realization of the business strategies as well as it subsequently will contributes to sustainability. The actual research will be executed through a web survey among several organizations as well as a case study of Centraal Boekhuis, which contains in-depth interviews with about 10 representatives project employees from Centraal Boekhuis. The research will also contain the study of qualitative data, for exampl e the study of documentation and reports that are in stock within the company about strategy, project management and sustainability. 1. INTRODUCTION BACKGROUND 1.1 Introduction To understand project management within organizations it is important to understand projects. The Prince2 Foundation (2005) defines a project as a temporary organisation that is needed to produce a unique and predefined outcome or result at a pre-specified time using predetermined recourses. In practice projects bring recourses, skills, technology and ideas together to achieve business objectives and deliver business benefits. But why is there a need for projects within organizations? Organizations are continuously striving after agility and success by for example introducing new products and services or by improving business processes or activities. Many projects are the result of organizations that wants to manage such changes on an effectively and efficiently way. According to Bryan Atkin and Adrian Brooks (2009), Change Management is the key towards innovation of organizations. In order to make progress and achieve greater efficiency and better value for money and to be more effective or competitive, organizations have to do things differently and have to make changes. Maylor (2005) stresses that Project management is essential for managing and reducing the inherent risks associated with change and innovation. Changing organizations need projects for making change. Recently Johnson et al. (2009) gives an interesting definition on business strategy. The definition describes that strategy contains the direction and scope of an organization over the long term, for achieving advantage in a changing environment throughout configuration of resources and competences with the aim of fulfilling stakeholders expectations. Aforementioned definition displays that the fundamental principle of making changes of organizations can be the result of aiming towards targets that contributes to the fulfilment of the business strategy. In practice this means that organisational changes and the application of project management for realising those changes can thus be the result of the long term direction and scope of an organization. Simply said; project management can move an organization from where it is now, to where it needs to be in the future to meets its business strategy and -objectives. As mentioned above the management of projects within organization is among other things related to its business strategy, but how will the business strategy influences the selection and the execution of project management within organizations and how can project management thus contributes to the realization of the business strategy? For example, The board of directors of Centraal Boekhuis (2009) has formulated a covering policy on sustainability for the strategy period 2009-2011. Several projects on behalf of sustainability will be conducted as well as projects will be conducted on behalf of other strategic targets. But is it possible to realize more strategic focus, by linking all projects to the business strategy of an organization? This leads to the main research question of the thesis: how will the business strategy influence the selection and execution of project management within organizations, and how will this in consequence lead to sustainable project management? Another interesting question will be: if project management is constructed and selected in accordance with the business strategy, and more specifically linked with sustainable business strategy, will projects contribute to the realization of the business strategies as well as it subsequently will contributes to sustainability? 1.2 The organization; Centraal Boekhuis Centraal Boekhuis is a (leading) logistics service provider in stocking, storage, distribution and transportation of books. More than 500 publishers and over 1500 booksellers use the service facilities for distribution, transportation, information and administration. For publishers is Centraal Boekhuis the entry into the Dutch and Flemish (book) markets. For booksellers in the Netherlands and Flanders, Centraal Boekhuis is the provider of the assortment of Dutch-language books, general as well as educational or scientific books, and a selected range of foreign-language books (staff directory guide Centraal Boekhuis, 2007). Besides taking care of stocking, storage, distribution and transportation of books, Centraal Boekhuis also offers administrative or financial services. For publishers the company organizes complete stock and sales recording, invoicing and debt collection. Booksellers as well benefit from a broad range of information technology services. The majority of Centraal Boekhuis services are integrated in a single automated system (CB Online), so customers have access to the operational and management information they need, focused on their companys business processes. Upon request, Centraal Boekhuis will also arrange the storage, distribution and transport of office supplies, stationary and greeting cards. All logistic activities and processes are linked with the transport centres delivery network. The centres range of services includes processing special offers and returned goods, (temporary) storage, order picking and carrying out special mailing campaigns with value-added logistics. The Transport Centre of Centraal Boekhuis organizes transport from and to countries outside the Benelux. In England is a consolidation point bounded, where shipments from 1600 English publishers intended for Dutch bookshops are collected and forwarded to the Netherlands. This enables Centraal Boekhuis to offer customers attractive services. Shipments from Germany and America are transported along similar lines. History For over 135 years Centraal Boekhuis have been the logistic partner in the Dutch book trade. In 1871 the Vereeniging ter Bevordering van de Belangen des Boekhandels (VBBB) in Amsterdam lay the foundations for Het bestelhuis van de Nederlandsche Boekhandel, presently called Centraal Boekhuis. Publishers send their boxes with books to that warehouse of books, where the boxes were distributed across the Netherlands. Many years later, in 1926, the VBBB decided to found Centraal Boekhuis in Amsterdam. Well-established publishers were obliged to store their books in the central depot of Centraal Boekhuis in Amsterdam. From now on the book stores and publishers could order their books with Centraal Boekhuis from one central point in the Netherlands. In 1973, because lack of space, Centraal Boekhuis grounded their company in Culemborg, where the company nowadays is still grounded. In that same year is Het Bestelhuis and Centraal Boekhuis merged into one company: Centraal Boekhuis B.V (Intranet Centraal Boekhuis, 2008). Organization The daily management of Centraal Boekhuis is directed by the Senior Management Team (SMT). The lead direction of the 5 Senior Managers is directed by a Chief Executive Officer, namely Hans Willem Cortenraad. They have weekly meetings to discuss the company policy and how this policy is best directed to the line managers. Centraal Boekhuis in figures (2009) Full time employees: 579 Publishers: 500 Booksellers: 1500 Available Dutch titles: 80,000 Number of copies delivered per year: 60,000,000 Number of delivery addresses per day: 2500 Number of packages transported per year: 4,500,000 Number of pallets transported per year: 300,000 2. PROBLEM STATEMENT RESEARCH QUESTION According to Project Management Institute and Morris (2006) oorganizations often want efficiency, good financial results and success and they want it fast. It is for that matter that organizations generally focus on short-term results, such as immediate realizable financial goals. However, Centraal Boekhuis for example expects also from its employees to achieve results that corresponds to the overall long term objectives of the business strategy. This contradiction pointed me in the direction to ask myself if it is possible to operate more efficiently if the portfolio of projects is continuously linked to the business strategy of Centraal Boekhuis. My hypothesis subsequently is that the overall business strategy will be the input for the project portfolio planning and in turn, project success impacts the goals and objectives of the business strategy. Nevertheless, the solution isnt that easy. For instance, organizations are nowadays more often integrating ideas of sustainability in business strategies. It is for that matter unavoidable that there will be projects related to sustainable strategy, namely environmental or social projects. However, will projects on behalf of other strategic objectives also be sustainable? Thats why I assume that when project management is constructed and selected in accordance with the business strategy, and more specifically linked with sustainable business strategy, projects will positively contribute to the realization of strategies as well as it subsequently will contributes to sustainability. [2] The main question and hypothesis will be clarified for a reasonable interpretation of the research construction and approach. In this research the relation between project management and the pursuing of the realization of business strategies will be looked at. Foresaid leads to the following research question: what is the impact of the business strategy on the selection and execution of project management within organizations, and will this possible influence in consequence lead to sustainable project management? The hypothesis is: when project management is constructed and selected in accordance with the business strategy, and more specifically linked with sustainable business strategy, projects will positively contribute to the realization of the business strategies as well as it will positively contributes to sustainability; the result subsequently is that the overall business strategy will be the input for the project portfolio planning and in turn, project success impacts the goals and objectives of the sustainable business strategy. Why is it so important to link the project management of an organization to its business strategies, in order to make projects sustainable? As stated by Johnson et al (2009) it is ultimately the fulfilling of the business strategy to aim on the fulfilling of the expectations of the stakeholders. If an organization have stated sustainability within their business strategies, stakeholders are involved in monitoring if the strategy is achieved the objectives and if there is corrective action needed. This is called strategic control and it will keep an organization in track with its achievements on behalf of its strategy (and also sustainable strategy). According to foresaid it is plausible that it is important to state sustainability in the business strategy, for making sure that projects will meet the objectives and goals of sustainable strategy. 3. GOALS OBJECTIVES I will try to find out if a business strategy, specifically a sustainable business strategy, can positive influence the way on how projects will be selected and executed, as I expect it to be. I will test the hypothesis that the overall business strategy will be the input for the project portfolio planning and in turn, project success impacts the goals and objectives of the sustainable business strategy, to see if it is possible to make project management sustainable. If so, this offers an interesting new insight in sustainable project management, which could be the basis for more research. First it is important to study literature to get familiar with the several subjects of this thesis. The several subjects that will be described are project management, business strategy and of course overall sustainability. Next I will try to describe the multifarious relative contexts between the several subjects described in the literature, in order to make my hypotheses plausible. The most important objective of the literature review is to create an elementary basic assumption for further research. Furthermore the research methodologies that I will use are a case study research and a web survey. For the execution of the case study research are various data (re)sources used, namely in-depth interviews and the study of business documentation and reports. The case study research methodology will be used to get insights in how Centraal Boekhuis arranges its business strategy, especially how it is arranged towards its project management. Then it is important to look at how the sustainable policy of Centraal Boekhuis affects the daily operations as well as the sustainable policy affect its project management. For comparison and further research I will send a web survey to approximately 100 companies with sustainability stated in their business strategy. Hopefully this will give me insights in how other companies arrange their project management related to its business strategy and maybe they have certain methodologies to make project management sustainable, so I have some interesting data to work with. My research will focus on project management, business strategies, sustainability and sustainable project management in an attempt to find relative contexts to integrate business strategy and projects in order to facilitate development of sustainable project management. Overall I hope that the executed research will create a certain frame work for linking project management to the overall business strategy of an organization, in order to make project management sustainable. 4. LITERATURE REVIEW As mentioned earlier my research will focus on project management, business strategies, sustainability and sustainable project management. Therefore the theoretical background of my research will also be focused on foresaid topics. 4.1 Business Strategy The traditional literature about business strategy is often about the general definitions of business strategy, where organizations focus on where they want to be on the long term (mission and vision) and how this is achieved (goals and objectives) (Alblas Wijsman, 2001) in order to gain competitive advantages. The current literature about strategy describes more that strategy is about the importance of achieving advantage in a changing environment throughout configuration of resources and competences with the aim of fulfilling stakeholders expectations (Johnson et al., 2009). Aforementioned shows that the current literature on business strategies discusses the importance of the characteristic aspects change and configuration (Kloosterboer, 2005). The relative context between business strategy and changes is an important aspect that must be taken into account before I continue my research. According to Bryan Atkin and Adrian Brooks (2009), Change Management is the key towards innovation of organizations. In order to make progress and achieve greater efficiency and better value for money and to be more effective or competitive, organizations have to do things differently and have to make changes. Harvey Maylor (2003) characterizes project management as essential aspect for managing and reducing the inherent risks associated with change and innovation. Therefore changing organizations need projects for making change. 4.2 Project Management The Prince2 Foundation (2005) recognizes that organizations are continuously striving after agility and success by for example introducing new products and services or by improving business processes or activities. Many projects are the result of organizations that wants to manage such changes on an effectively and efficiently way. Furthermore Prince2 (2005) defines a project as a temporary organisation that is needed to produce a unique and predefined outcome or result at a pre-specified time using predetermined recourses. In practice projects bring recourses, skills, technology and ideas together to achieve business objectives and deliver business benefits. According to the International Project Management Association (2006), professional project management is broken down into the following three competences (see also figure one): Technical competences for project management; behavioral competences of project personnel; and the contextual competences of projects programmes and portfolio. The technical competence covers the techniques of project management, for example the practice of Prince2. The behavioral competence represents the professional behavior of the project personal, like project management skills. The contextual competence is the linkage between the project and organizations involved. The vision on project management by IPMA in the International Competence Baceline presented in October 2006 will be critically looked at for my research. This project management approach will also be studied and discussed during the master program of the Master of Facilities Management and Real Estate. The eye of competence figures the integra tion of the elements of project management as seen trough the eyes of the project manager. So the essence of project management is to support the execution of an organizations strategy to deliver a considered necessary outcome (Clifford and Gray, 2002). The research of recent literature shows us that project management is nowadays recognized as one of the primary business processes (Atkin Brooks, 2009). It is for that matter that organisational changes and the application of project management for realising those changes must be linked to the overall business strategy of an organization, in order to accomplish the business goals and objectives. Simply said; project management can move an organization from where it is now, to where it needs to be in the future to meets its business strategy and -objectives. For this thesis I will mainly focus on the SWOT analysis, because this management and strategy tool is used by Centraal Boekhuis for defining its strategy. The SWOT analysis can be used as a strategy formulation tool. It helps organizations to identify its Strengts, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT). The Strengths and Weaknesses represent the internal factors that create value or can destroy value. Opportunities and Threats are the external factors that can influence the organization value (Ahaus, 2005). 4.3 Business Strategies vs. Project Management According to Sabin Srivannaboon (2006), previous research on project management and its relation with business strategy mostly links the project management with business strategy through critical project selection, viewing it as part of the alignment process (For example Bard, Balachandra Kaufmann (1988); Cooper, Edgett Kleinschmidt (1998); Englund Graham (1999) etc). Also often displayed in previous research is project portfolio management. This is another concept suggested in the literature to ensure the strategic alignment of project management and business strategy and it is defined as a dynamic decision-making process, which an organization can update and revise its list of active projects (see for literature: Turner Simister (2000); Cooper, Edgett Kleinschmidt (1998) etc.). Current literature shows us more about the research that has been done on the alignment of project management with business strategies of organizations, for example research of Sabin Srivannaboon (2006) , Tony Grundy (2001) Peter Morris Ashley Jamison (2004) etc. 4.4 Sustainability sustainable project management On Wednesday the 4th of November, member of the House of Representatives Esmà © Wiegman talks about faith in Sustainability and vice versa, please note: in church! That sustainability has even penetrated the Christian church sais a lot. We are all confronted with it and action is expected of us. Sustainability is a hot item, that is no surprise. Looking at the quotes mentioned below you can conclude that there is no process in an organization that is not interfered with sustainability items. â€Å"Managers are more and more beginning to consider the environment as an additional parameter on which they base their decisions.† (North, 1997) That is what Klaus North wrote is his environmental business management introduction in 1997. And Carin Labuschagne wrote almost a decade later: â€Å"Various driving forces originating from society, government employees and business partners are forcing companies to both incorporate sustainable development in their business practices as well as to align all internal operations and practices with the principles thereof.† (Labuschagne, 2005). Sustainability, what does that really mean? Norwegian prime minister Gro Harlem Brundtland formulated it as followed; â€Å"The development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs†. As Labuschagne already said, there is no process in an organization that is not interfered with aspects of sustainability. Project management is just one of these processes that cannot be ignored. That is also made clear in the APM sustainable outlooks, where is mentioned that they are considering a database with project and programme managers who have specialist knowledge, experience and expertise in sustainability issues generally or by specific sectors, locations or types of project. They also plead for the triple bottom line approach in every project. The triple bottom line approach includes environmental, social and economical sustainability (APM, sustainable outlooks). As organizations become more and more focused on environmental responsibilities, project managers cannot stay behind. (Zoyd Reed Luce) Where sustainability is grounded in almost every strategy of every large organization, this automatically is reflected in the projects of an organization. Project manager are forced to focus on sustainability these days, it becomes part of the project. 4.5 Theoretical Framework for aligning projects with strategy There are several articles expanding on the idea that there should be a certain focus on the corporate strategy when managing projects, for example the articles of Tony Grundy (2001) or Morris and Jamison (2004). Milosevic and Srivannaboon (2006) support this vision in their article and wrote an article which describes a theoretical framework for aligning project management with strategy. Milosevic and Srivannaboon have developed an empirically based theoretical framework that explains the impact of business strategy on project management and vice versa and discusses how mechanisms can be used to strengthen that alignment. As discussed earlier, strategy is about the importance of achieving advantage in a changing environment throughout configuration of resources and competences with the aim of fulfilling stakeholders expectations and defending it against competitive forces (Johnson et al., 2009). Milosevic and Srivannaboon have based their theoretical framework on the vision of Porter (1980) about Generic Business Strategies. Michael Porter states that to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage, an organization must chose a certain type of strategy. Porters generic strategies distinguishes three types of strategies, namely cost leadership, differentiation, and cost focus (see figure 3). Competitive advantage can only be achieved by choosing one of these strategies. If an organization chooses to pursue more than one generic strategy, it will perform being badly without competitive advantage and Porter refers to that as being ‘stuck in the middle. Milosevic and Srivannaboon use cost leadership, differentiation, and best cost as the primary focus of their analysis. They also use Shenhars strategic project leadership framework which consist of project elements like project strategy, project organization, project process and tools metrics and culture. Differentiation is about organizations pursuing a differentiation strategy by offering products and services that are unique from competition in order to satisfy the desires of their customers. This differentiation allows the organization to charge a premium price (Porter, 1980). Cost Leadership is about organizations pursuing a cost leadership strategy to gain competitive advantage and increase market share by operate with lower costs than competition, for example tight cost controls e.g. efficient facilities (Porter, 1980). Best cost (also called focus niche) is about organizations creating a sustainable competitive advantage through combining cost leadership and differentiation. This can be realized by offering a unique product or service to a special market segment and seek to offer low cost products within a special market segment (fast time-to-market, superior product quality, etc.). According to Milosevic and Srivannaboon the competitive aspects of the business strategy drive the focus of the project management elements. They see a pattern in project management elements for the differentiation of business strategy. Their research indicates that organizations can align projects with business strategies into three levels, namely the strategic level, the tactical level, and the corrective emergent strategic feedback. The first level of this framework (typified as mediating process at the strategic level) is the first step of the alignment process. At level 1 organization should use their intended strategy and select projects into their portfolio to determine the right projects that would contribute to the organizations strategy. The second level (typified as mediating process at the project level) involves the further planning of project details to ensure that alignment with the project life-cycle phases (Shenhars project classification) is realized. Proper alignment of projects with strategy during the project life cycle can be classified as the planning process and the monitoring process. Managers should develop a project management plan that has a certain focus on the business strategy. The third level (mediating process at the emergent strategic feedback level) is a process which uses stages, or also called stage gates or milestone, for evaluating or reviewing the project status on time, cost, and performance. These project stages are points in the project life cycle where projects transition from one stage to another. These stages provide project teams the opportunity to realign the project to its business strategy. 5. RESEARCH DESIGN 5.1 Research methods Based on the literature of Baarde and Goede (2001), the research on behalf of this thesis is categorized in a preliminary research study, a literature review, a case study research and a web survey. For the execution of the case study research are various data (re)sources used, namely in-depth interviews and the study of business documentation and reports of Centraal Boekhuis. The preliminary research study has given multifarious insights in for example the company of the case study, but also insights about project management and the business strategy of the concerning organization. In the preliminary research study is a critically literature review completed and several managers of the human resource division have been interviewed for creating a basis for this research. The products of the preliminary research study are a defined approach of the case study research, a description of the company and a defined approach of the web-survey. The case study research can be categorized in descriptive- and exploratory research study methods (Sanders et al, 2009). The descriptive study of this case study is defined by the research of qualitative data, for example the study of business documentation and reports that are in stock within the company about project management, its business strategy and sustainability. The exploratory part of the research describes the research methods in depth interviews and a web survey. In order to test how organizations work with project management related to its (sustainable) business strategy, two steps will be carried out. First, on Tuesday March 6, I will send a web survey to approximately 15 companies with sustainability stated in their business strategy. This short questionnaire will offer me data on the way the concerning companies arranges their project management related to the business strategies, to test on how the companies makes their projects sustainable. In order to increase the number of responses and to raise the chances of the answering the questions themselves, I will keep the survey very short, and stress this in the attached e-mail. Second, I will arrange in-depth interviews with about ten representatives of project management employees of the project department of Centraal Boekhuis. In these interviews, I will attempt

Glacier :: Nature Wildlife Geography Essays

Glacier The glacial run off river was colder than ice, so cold it was like a torrent of broken glass against the skin. The water itself is bluish white, the color of skim milk. On the bank of the glacial river, a hundred dead and rotting fish lay scattered around like casualties of a recent battle. The corpses lay in every stage of decay, from fresh, as if just pulled from the water, to pure white skeletons stripped by scavengers. The stench is like an enormous natural gas leak. The river itself is so crowded with spawning silver salmon, that it resembles a giant can of sardines. The sunlight shining off their silver backs gleams like polished chrome. These amazing fish are swimming upstream against the current, jumping often with the power and agility of an Olympic gymnast. The terrain surrounding the river is frozen tundra. It has slimy green and brown muck on top due to the unusually warm summer, but dig down an inch and you will encounter ground as hard as concrete. The vast tundra is in sharp contrast to the rolling hills far in the distance. The retreating glacier literally cut its path through the landscape, voiding this stretch of land of everything but hard ground and arctic grass. Thousands of years of glacial movement had cut a distinct scar that could read history as well as any sedimentary rock. In the distance you could clearly see the boundaries of the ancient glacier. Hills suddenly appear out of the frozen wasteland. Tall evergreens jutting into the sky, look like giants, even at a distance, compared to the flatness of the tundra. Thick grey clouds hang ominously over head, as if further threatening any one who might dare this rugged country. The mountains far away have rings around them like halos, and one can see that they are emptying their heavy burden upon the green mountain slopes. When looking up the river, you can follow it west and trace it to its source. There, stands a magnificent mountain of ice, known as portage glacier. The glacier strongly resembles a real mountain, one that has endured a blizzard of phenomenal proportion. Instead of being a brown dirt slope with patches of white snow and ice, it is the opposite. A perfectly white slope pocked with patches of brown. The end of the glacier, which is about as far away as the eye can see, is pressed against the ground, like an unstoppable force working against an unmovable object.

Impact of Illegal Immigrant Workers on the US Economy Essay

Illegal immigration is tightly woven into the fabric of the US economy. Its prevalence impacts all corners of the financial world, but affects the greatest impact on educational funding, healthcare expenditures and taxes. Illegal immigration tends to be viewed from extreme viewpoints in our country often influenced more by personal biases and political opinions than statistical facts. In reality, the positive and negative effects nearly neutralize each other and it has become a delicate balancing act for politicians to create and maintain a system that works to please both sides and retain economic stability. Illegal immigrants are defined as anyone who is not a US citizen and who is in the country in violation of our immigration laws; this could mean anyone who has entered the country undocumented or falsely documented, those with expired visas or any permanent resident who commits a crime after entry and remains after deportation orders. It is virtually impossible to report exactly how many illegal immigrants reside in the country since they deal with fears of deportation they don’t readily identify themselves, but the INS, Census Bureau, and US General Accounting office estimates put the number somewhere between 2 and 12 million. There is also likely fluctuation based on time of year depending on availability of agricultural work. Most of the illegal immigration debate over the last two decades has focused on Mexican immigrants and California has been used as a model for influencing regulations across the country. This is due to the fact that in the US those of Mexican origin account for over 54% of all illegal immigrants and that California houses over 40% of the illegal immigrant population. This is important to recognize because many of the arguments and proposed or passed laws with regards to this issue stem from the Mexican immigration dilemma in California. (Here is what I could recover- I can get it done by Sunday on the school computers if it will make your due date- I am so sorry again. . . I have been freaking out ‘cause of my computer and then I was stuck at work and couldn’t get to any computer all day yesterday.)

Biophysical environment Essay Example

Biophysical environment Essay Example Biophysical environment Paper Biophysical environment Paper The biophysical environment consists of living things such as plants animals and non-living things such as rocks, soils and water. It is the symbiosis between the physical environment and the biological life forms within the environment. The biophysical environment is made up of four overlapping spheres: Atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere biosphere. As shown in figure (1). These four spheres are dependent upon each other. Each sphere plays a vital role in sustaining life on earth. Figure 1) For many years thousands of groups of indigenous people behaved in many says that often transformed ecosystems and led to the extinction of many species. Recently, contemporary industrial societies have exploited the biophysical environment with little regard for its ecological limits. Atmosphere is only the thing that keeps you from being burned to death every day, helps bring the rain that our plants need to survive and it holds the oxygen that you need to breath. It is the transparent, odorl ess mass of air surrounding the earth. It is a combination of gases and particles enveloping the globe. The earths atmosphere has a layered structure: ; The troposphere: All weather and related process take place in the troposphere. It consists of all weather systems that produce precipitation and surface winds. The troposphere extends from ground level to about 15-17 km above the equator. ; The Stratosphere: The stratosphere extends from 10-km above the earths surface. ; The mesosphere: The mesosphere extends about km above the earths surface. Temperatures fall rapidly due to no water vapor, cloud or dust. The winds in this area can reach Kim/h. The troposphere: In the troposphere, temperatures rise rapidly reaching up to 1500. This Is due to increasing concentrations of atomic oxygen. Oxygen and Nitrogen make up 90% of the atmospheres volume. The remainder gases comprise of carbon dioxide and ozone. The most serious outcome of air pollution is acid rain. This is caused by pollutants distributed into the atmosphere causing the acidic compounds to fall back to earth as acid rain or sno w. The Lithosphere The lithosphere is the solid outer zone of the Earth comprising the crust and the upper layer of the mantle. The continental plates on which the oceans and continents are located on are the principle features of this sphere. The presence of canyons, gorges, coastlines and mountains are the outcome of he ongoing forces the earth creates. There are two opposing forces; tectonic gradation. Gradation forces result from gravity and radiant energy from the sun. Tectonic forces are generated from within the earth that result in uplift, movement, or are a structural deformation of part of the earth ;s crust. The earth consists of 3 main layers: o The Core o The Crust o The Mantle The Lithosphere is up to 1 00 kilometers deep. It is always moving and broken into sections called tectonic plates. Figure 2 shows the cross section of the earth that takes place in the Lithosphere. (Figure 2) The core is made up of molten rock. This is due to the intense heat it produces at the centre of the earth. It is made up of the inner and outer core. Inside the core the metals are constantly moving and rotating regularly. The mantle surrounds the inner core and is about Kim thick. There is a soft layer of molten rock called the stratosphere. The stratosphere plays an important role in shaping the earths surface. The crust is the thinnest later of the earth. The crust of the Earth is broken into many pieces called plates. The Hydrosphere The hydrosphere is the liquid water component of the Earth. It includes: ; Oceans, ; Seas, ; Lakes, ; Ponds, ; Rivers Streams. The hydrosphere covers about 70% of the surface of the Earth and is the home for many plants and animals. Water is stored in a number of forms for varying periods of time. Figure 2 shoes the sources of fresh water: Draw the circles The same water has been circling the earth forever. No water is added and none is taken away, the only thing that changes is its geographical location. The cycle of water is shown below in Figure (3). Draw the cycle? The Biosphere The biosphere is the layer of the planet Earth where life exists. It is the global realm that encompasses all living things from the creatures on the ocean lour and the insects. It includes all living organisms (biotic) and non-living organisms (biotic). A community together with its nons of ecosystems are: Pond o Forest o River o Grassland. Ecosystems can be divided into two groups: aquatic Ecosystems o Terrestrial Ecosystems Aquatic ecosystems include marine environments such as open sea, coral reefs and ocean inlets. Terrestrial ecosystems comprise of communities of plants and animals spread across the surface of continents. The Human impact I have chosen to discuss is the Human interactions with the hydrosphere. Peoples activities have affected the hydrosphere in many ways: reduced river flow temperature change isolation pollution overfeeding riverbank erosion Toxic chemicals, substances, industrial wastes and pesticides in the earths water sources are disturbing the steady state of the hydrosphere. With increased populations, the need for water will increase and due to temperature changes water will be extremely difficult to attain. Acid rain has destroyed the marine life in many river systems and oceans. As the pollution is spread in the air and comes down in the form of acid it kills the biotic species of our planet.

History of the Iron Lung or Respirator

History of the Iron Lung or Respirator By definition, the iron lung is an airtight metal tank that encloses all of the body except the head and forces the lungs to inhale and exhale through regulated changes in air pressure. According to Robert Hall author of History of the British Iron Lung, the first scientist to appreciate the mechanics of respiration was John Mayow. John Mayow In 1670, John Mayow demonstrated that air is drawn into the lungs by enlarging the thoracic cavity. He built a model using bellows inside which was inserted a bladder. Expanding the bellows caused air to fill the bladder and compressing the bellows expelled air from the bladder. This was the principle of artificial respiration called external negative pressure ventilation or ENPV that would lead to the invention of the iron lung and other respirators. Iron Lung Respirator - Philip Drinker The first modern and practical respirator nicknamed the iron lung was invented by Harvard medical researchers Philip Drinker and Louis Agassiz Shaw in 1927. The inventors used an iron box and two vacuum cleaners to build their prototype respirator. Almost the length of a subcompact car, the iron lung exerted a push-pull motion on the chest. In 1927, the first iron lung was installed at Bellevue hospital in New York City. The first patients of the iron lung were polio sufferers with chest paralysis. Later, John Emerson improved upon Philip Drinker’s invention and invented an iron lung that cost half as much to manufacture.

How do consumers engage with fashion, as a routine aspect of everyday Research Paper

How do consumers engage with fashion, as a routine aspect of everyday life - Research Paper Example oduction and display of new and emerging fashion styles, innovative and engaging consumers and their selections, and the urge to express the spirit of the times (Pink, 2001). Core in defining fashion is the interaction of fashion products, their distribution and the manner in which they are consumed. Several theories have been postulated to explain fashion, its momentum and influences on everyday life. Most of these theories envisage the expanse and distribution of fashion as a movement or trickle from one level or aspect of life in society to another (Felski, 2000). This trickle is viewed as being diffused from the center to the edge in either a hierarchical or horizontal manner. These perceptions of fashion trickle led to the three theories of fashion; the trickle-down, trickle-across, or trickle-up theories. In the trickle down theory, fashion movement is based on a hierarchical society, which supports the upward movement of fashion among social strata (Felski, 2000). According to this theory, people at the top of the societal strata are offered and accept a fashion styles and brands first. The style is then gradually accepted by those in lower strata. In other terms, this theory envisages a situation in which lower strata people seek to copy the affluence of upper strata people in society. Such consumers seek recognition and try to distance themselves from the lower cadre groups, where they actually belong. Those supporting the trickle-across theory feel that fashion runs horizontally among groups on the same social level. There is this little, if any lag time between the time of adoption by one group and another. In this theory, designers have prices for all the social levels. The reasons for which this theory is preferred include promotional or advertising benefits to designers, manufacturers and retailers, rapid mass communications benefits and exposure of design to all fashion levels and sectors (Pink, 2001). In the trickle up theory, the newest of the

Management case study applying 10 management theories

Management applying 10 management theories - Case Study Example Bearing in mind that the traditional methods of competitive advantage may not apply to the modern business sector, market segmentation and appropriate targeting can also act as a competitive advantage. However, to take advantage of this, the organization ought to devise reliable ways of undertaking market research, which requires the right employees who can only be acquired through recruitment and selection. Although the organization may decide to undertake internal recruitment, it is usually recommended to undertake external recruitment through advertisements, referrals, and the Internet. This provides a new set of skills for the organization that can be used to capitalize on market segmentation and targeting. In spite of this advantage, this also requires additional resources that mean additional expenses that organizations take lengthy discussions to deal with. To accomplish the required outcomes, the organization ought to understand the impact that rational decision making can have towards the realization of this quest. Rational decision making incorporates several steps that begin with the identification of a problem, formulation of alternatives, implementation of the most appropriate solution, and evaluation of the impact that the implemented solution has. In most cases, this process favors logic, analysis as well as objectivity. Since marketing is an issue in the organization, as indicated in the case study, this provides information on the problem to be resolved while the next step would involve several alternatives that may include increasing supply or even identifying areas to supply specific products. This is because the research would provide information concerning customer preferences, which is very important to organizations. Once the most appropriate step has been agreed upon and implemented, the final step is very important