Themes In Barn Burning - 1135 Words

Symbols and Themes in â€Å"Barn Burning† and â€Å"To Build a Fire† The short stories â€Å"Barn Burning† by William Faulkner and â€Å"To Build a Fire† by Jack London are, on their surface, two very different tales. While â€Å"Barn Burning† tells the story of a young boy, Sarty, trying to grow and develop his own moral code among his twisted father whom the boy doesn’t agree with, but follows because he is ‘his blood,’ â€Å"To Build a Fire† tells a story of a man trekking alone on Yukon Trail in miserable, dangerous weather that he is ill-prepared for. When presented this way, these stories seem to have nothing significant in common. Regardless of their drastically different plots, characters, and settings, they nevertheless have very similar symbols and themes,†¦show more content†¦It is something that is now vital and is now being used as a tool rather than a weapon. The protagonist, who is unnamed in the final publication, but was referred to as Vincent in earlier drafts, relies on fire h eavily and cannot use it irresponsibly, as any misuse will be detrimental to his life (London, 559). This is interesting, as fire most often represents danger, like in â€Å"Barn Burning,† but in â€Å"To Build a Fire†, demands respect, as it is the only source of hope against the enemy, which is, in this case, nature. Additionally, in both stories, there’s a similar theme of running, but, again, it symbolizes two contrasting ideas. In â€Å"Barn Burning,† the reader can see that the Snopes family is running away from the law, and, later, Sarty is running away from his family, which both have contrasting meanings themselves. When the family runs away, it is to selfishly avoid the negative consequences associated with Snopes’s actions; however, when Sarty runs away, it is to make the right choice for himself rather than â€Å"†¦stick[ing] to his own blood† (Faulkner, 232). Sarty decided the best choice was to abandon his family, and is confident about this decision, never looking back. Conversely, Vincent, the protagonist in â€Å"To Build a Fire† runs away less literally. While the reader is not given any indication to why exactly he is enduring this dangerous trek other than to meet up with friends camping an unspecified distance down the trail. However, one has to wonder whatShow MoreRelatedThemes Of Barn Burning1018 Words   |  5 PagesUnderstanding a Stories Theme. Dusty L. Clevenger Excelsior College Advanced Composition II ENG102A Professor Linda Rozell-Shannon PHD. July 11, 2017 In Williams Faulkner’s short story â€Å"Barn Burning† there are several themes to be evaluated here. To me the main theme here is justice but there are a couple other themes the author uses to clarify this theme. He uses the strong ties of post-civil war families living outside of civilization and their dedication to each other. He embracesRead More Setting and Theme in Barn Burning Essay1144 Words   |  5 Pagesas all individuals, are embedded in a context or setting: a time, a place, and a culture. In fact, characters and their relationship to others are better understood in a specific context of time, place and atmosphere, as they relate to a proposed theme or central point of a story. Abner is revealed as a sadistic character who confronts his son with the choice of keeping his loyal ties to the family or parting for a life on his own with no familial support. Sarty is Abners son, a young boy tornRead MoreThe Theme Of Love In Barn Burning848 Words   |  4 Pagescontrasting ways. Some say love is an action and the others say it is just an emotion or feeling. Then there are the ones that say that love can be shown in order, loyalty, and morality. These three things are shown through the story of Barn Burning. In Barn Burning, In Barn Burning, sarty is torn amongst request and confusion. He is attempting to comply with his dad all around, so he can be at last considered a man to his dad. Moore explained, â€Å"Sarty trades this disorder for order, symbolized most powerfullyRead MoreThe Theme Of Conflict In Barn Burning By John Faulkner760 Words   |  4 PagesFaulkner introduces us a dramatic and complex short story called Barn Burning, where the conflict is presented as a child trying to make a decision between following his father along with a path of criminal activity or weather fortunate a new path for himself. The story is narrated in 3rd person omniscient from the perspective of the protagonist of the story, a boy called Coronel Sartoris Snopes and his father, who can be considered as an antagonist, Abner Snopes, a veteran of the war. The motherRead MoreComparison of â€Å"AP† by John Updike and â€Å"Barn Burning† by William Faulkner1268 Words   |  5 PagesWillia m Faulkner and John Updike short stories share the same theme loyalty. The use of different literary elements to explore this similarity is what differs within the two stories. The authors take different approaches such as characters, settings, and point of views to communicate the theme to the reader. Throughout both short stories, the reader can receive a precise overview of loyalty. Even though the differences of literary elements are announced, one can still analyze the deeper meaning overallRead MoreDeeper Insight by Use of Point of View - Summary1074 Words   |  5 Pagesof View The majority of authors use literary elements to build up their story. However, the author of the short story â€Å"Barn Burning† uses one particular element to build up his own story in a very unique format. William Faulkner uses various literary elements in the story, but the most critical one is point of view. Faulkner uses point of view to develop characters, the theme, and the plot of the story. Faulkner’s use of point of view helps the reader understand who the characters are, how theRead MoreBarn Burning By William Faulkner1357 Words   |  6 PagesHenry Award winning short story, â€Å"Barn Burning† was written in 1938 and published by Harper’s in 1939 (â€Å"William,† par. 12). In many ways the story is a product of â€Å"both a turbulent time in America’s history and Faulkner’s personal history† (Parker 101). America was emerging from the Great Depression just in time to see World War II looming on the horizon while Faulkner was struggling with â€Å"finances, a drinking problem, and a new mistress† (Parker 102). In â€Å"Barn Burning† Faulkner makes extensive useRead MoreEssay on Barn Burning549 Words   |  3 Pages Use of Blood in â€Å"Barn Burning† nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;â€Å"Barn Burning† is about the struggle of a boy to do what is right during the Post Civil War era. The main character, Sartoris Snopes, is a poor son of a migrant tenant farmer. In the opening scene he is being asked by a circuit judge about the burning of a farmer’s barn by his father. The boy does not tell on his father and is not forced to do so, but he thinks that he would have done so had he been asked. The father, Abner Snopes, servedRead MoreThe Yellow Wall Paper And Barn Burning Essay1509 Words   |  7 Pagesnot necessarily seen in today’s society, it is not rare to find this theme present in a large number of works studied in American Literature. Two authors that illustrate this pervasive theme in their short stories are Charlotte Perkins Gilman and William Faulkner. Despite the fact that these short stories were written almost fifty years apart, the protagonists in both Gilman’s â€Å" The Yellow Wall-paper† a nd Faulkner’s â€Å"Barn Burning† live in a society where they are severely conflicted because of theirRead MoreShort Story Essay1038 Words   |  5 PagesRose For Emily and Barn Burning Human behavior is one of the most studied and talked about traits of human beings, for it makes us who we are after all. It is prevalent in books, movies, stories, and most importantly life, everything we do involves it. In all of the short stories we read, aspects of human behavior where the basis of the writings. The short stories A Rose For Emily and Barn Burning show excellent human reactions to lifes challenges through the themes of social status and

Implementation Of The Project Management Essay - 1625 Words

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 1.2 FALLACIES There are a lot of fallacies and obstacles in implementing the project management in an organisation. It is necessary to understand them fully and should find out solution to overcome them so as to reach a high level project management maturity. According to Kerzner (2013) two main obstacles in project management maturity is activities are often controlled by different people with different positions of authority. They might be having less knowledge of the implementation of the project management and yet they may not be willing to undergo training. The other obstacle is decisions may be made upon personal interests and hidden agendas. 1.3 CONFLICT ENVIRONMENT Conflicts cannot be fully eliminated from any project environment. There are a lots of reasons for this. Why conflicts arise- According to Kerzner (2013) conflicts occur in a project team as the people may have different interests, opinions, values, goals and feelings. Some last for short period and some other for long periods. Depends upon the people involved in the conflict and their mentality. Some other reasons why conflicts occur are- †¢ When the project deliverables cannot be achieved within the time frame †¢ When companies cannot deliver qualified resources they had offered †¢ When the qualifications and work habits of team members do not meet the requirement of the project †¢ The organisational structure itself can create conflicts,Show MoreRelatedImplementation Of A Project Management2548 Words   |  11 PagesProjects must be properly planned, especially when there are a number of professionals involved in it. It is the duty of the management to introduce the planning and ensure that all the activities required on a project are carried out within the specify time. Over the years effective project monitoring and controlling has been the centre of attention within the construction industry, as a result of delays in delivering projects on time. The complexity and the manner of work being carried out inRead MoreImplementation Of A Project Management Plan1502 Words   |  7 Pagesupcoming Enterprise 2.0 project there are several methods that will moderate transition to the new system. This change management system will help minimize the transition period further up the change curve and will minimize the pain and disruption associated with the tran sition. This is extremely important since the students currently attending the University are already accustomed to the way their system works and may take change in a negative manner. The change management plan will also minimizeRead MoreThe Importance and Implementation of Project Management1552 Words   |  6 Pagesprioritization helps one set their goals in order. This means that one does not become workaholic and is able to dedicate appropriate time to family and work. The same kind of order and organization is necessary for a firm to fulfill its main goals. Project Management dates back to the 1960s where it was first adopted by the US government when it divided its many functions into separate programs, like the space and military programs. This began because managers and organizations learned that division of workRead MoreProject Management : An Implementation Plan Essay1732 Words   |  7 Pagesrelates to project management especially within the construction industry. Project complexity is defined as consisting of many varied interrelated parts and can be operationalized in terms of differentiation and interdependence (Baccarini, 1996). The course established the fact that all projects do have some level of complexity. To be able to effectively identify the extent of complexity and to adequately plane for these complexities, one needs to get a clear understanding of what the project involvesRead MoreProject Implementation : Management Plan1155 Words   |  5 PagesH. Management Plan Project implementation will use a variety of teams and tools to manage and coordinate the activities through shared tasks and accountabilities. Cross-institution teams will have specific tasks, responsibilities and performance measures (see below); cross-team membership, combined with the Leadership Team (see below), will ensure coordination among component areas. Our primary coordination principle is continuous focus on clarity: of project goals and milestones, of communicationRead MoreImplementation Of Project Management Methodology981 Words   |  4 Pages1. Introduction Project management methodology is a combination of sensibly related practices, systems and procedures that decide how best to arrange, create, control and convey a task all through the continuous execution process until effective completion and termination. It is a logically demonstrated, precise and trained way to deal with project design, execution and completion. The purpose of project methodology is to take into consideration controlling the whole management process through powerfulRead MoreProject Implementation Plan For Successful Project Management1526 Words   |  7 PagesProject Implementation Plan For successful project management, there is a need to have a good project implementation plan, which, is a single document that specifies the duties, dates, and who is in charge. Human Resources Plan The human resources plan is a device that directs the management, in detail, on the responsibilities and the roles, the acquiring of the human resources, training specialization needed, and individual time required per resource. A well planned and successful project is dependentRead MoreImplementation Of A Project Management System1486 Words   |  6 Pages1.0 Purpose of the Document 2 2.0 Project Delivery 3 3.0 Scope Definition 4 4.0 Financial Management 5 5.0 Project Schedule 6 6.0 Quality Management 7 7.0 Communications Plan 8 8.0 Support Plans 9 9.0 Risk Management 10 10.0 Conclusions 11 References 12 APPENDICES 13 â€Æ' 1.0 PURPOSE OF THE DOCUMENT â€Æ' 2.0 PROJECT DELIVERY â€Æ' 3.0 SCOPE DEFINITION â€Æ' 4.0 FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT â€Æ' 5.0 PROJECT SCHEDULE 5.1 Overview One of the fundamental objectives of a project management system is to ensure deadlines areRead MoreProject Implementation Plan For A Successful Project Management1834 Words   |  8 PagesProject Implementation Plan For a successful project management, there is need to have a good project implementation plan which is a singled document that particularize the duties, dates and who is in charge. Project implementation can be referred to as a process in which project inputs are transformed to project outputs as set out in the project charter. The process involves a chain of activities, which need to be planned, operated and controlled. The management of these activities is essentialRead MoreProject Scope Management Implementation Management Essay1495 Words   |  6 PagesProject Scope Management It is defined as all the steps that are required to be taken for project functioning; it includes all the steps required for successful completion of project. Project scope management has main six processes. †¢ Plan scope Management †¢ Collect requirements . †¢ Defining of the scope It is a process of creating and documenting a detailed description of the project undertaken. †¢ Creating a work breakdown structure It is the process of distributing the whole project into several

Business Ethics and Sustainability

Question: Describe about the business ethics and sustainability? Answer: Business Ethics Business ethics refers to the moral philosophy that controls the behavior of every business. Therefore, businesses that act ethically are those that differentiate between the wrong and right actions by making ethical decisions (Rutherford et al. 2012, p.176). Companies that act ethically are those that do not utilize child labor, do not take part in bribery and corruption, and do not illegally use copyrighted processes and materials. Likewise, companies are expected to enhance their shareholders value, treat their staffs fairly, conserve the environment, and augment communities well-being in which they operate. Such issues are often accomplished by the development of an ethical code of behavior that outlines the core standards and values of an organization often referred to as Good Citizenship in the context of Anglo-Americans (Goodman Arenas 2015, p.165). A business that is ethical is expected to adhere to the codes of practice that defines its sector. However, some companies have taken the initiative of designing voluntary codes of ethics to standardize the operations in their sector. The initiatives are documented after thorough consultation with the local communities, employees, governments, and other stakeholders. Examples of these initiatives include the Global Reporting Initiative, the United Nations Global Compact, and the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (Martin Parmar 2012, p.300). The Global Reporting Initiative is utilized by organizations to generate sustainability reports regarding their operations and activities. The United Nations Global Impact, on the other hand, is the platform through which businesses, across the globe, compliment the UN objectives. The initiative requires businesses to comply with ten primary principles covering anti-corruption, best environmental practices, labor rights, and human rig hts (Martin Parmar 2012, p.296). The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative makes sure that organizations make public how much they pay to acquire raw materials. It also requires the government to make public the revenues they accrue from businesses. Ethical Theories Ethical theories refer to the principles and rules that determine the wrong and right of an action (Crane and Matten 2010, p.76). There are two major types of ethical theories: descriptive and normative ethical theories. The former aims to give a detailed description of how businesses make ethical decisions whereas the latter describes acts that are morally correct. However, ethical absolutism contends that there are moral principles that are applicable globally. The applicability is attributed to the fact that objective qualities, wrong, and right are rationally determined. Conversely, ethical relativism contends that no universal wrongs and rights can be logically determined. The argument is based on the fact that moral principles are determined by the culture of the person making the decision (Trevino Nelson 2011, p.63). For instance, the United States accepts the individualistic perspective whereas Europe favors broader governing and economic institutions. Equally, United States advocates for a capitalist framework whereas Europe questions ethical validation of capitalism. Asians in contrast base their moral principles on religion, to be precise Buddhism and Islam (Trevino Nelson 2011, p.65). As such, it is not necessary to have a universal Code of Ethics for global businesses. Managing Business Ethics Business ethics management according to Valentine et al. (2014, p.503) is an attempt to informally or formally address ethical problems or issues through certain programs, practices, and policies. Business ethics management is characterized by distinct elements including reporting, accounting, and auditing as well as partnership and dialogue programs. Other elements include value/mission statements, reporting channels, code of ethics, risk management and analysis, ethics training and education (Valentine et al. 2014, p.503). The main element applied by most is the designing of codes of ethics whose aim is to commit professionals, industries, and organizations to certain actions, values, and beliefs and outlines how employees should behave. Ethical codes are categorized into four: group or program codes of ethics, professional code of ethics, industry code of ethics, and corporate or organizational code of ethics (Jones Chin-Yen Alice 2015, p.80). Codes of ethics are prevalent in the United States and the United Kingdom, but not in Europe. For ethical codes to be effective, stakeholders involvement is paramount. In an organization, for example, shareholders are often affected or affect the operation of businesses (Donaldson Preston 1995, p.70). Conventional agency theory assumes that the aim of shareholders is to maximize their value in an organization. Through social shareholder engagement program, shareholders bring forth the concerns of the marginalized and voiceless shareholders including victims of environmental degradation and human rights abuse in the corporate decision-making process (McLaren. 2004; Lee Lounsbury 2011). For this reason, Dhir (2012, p.102) contends that organization failure to take into consideration the ethics of social shareholder engagement might jeopardize their legitimacy. In this context, multinational corporations should be guided by key principles as they conduct their operations in international markets. The principles include respect for the traditions of the local communities and th e core human values. Framing Business Ethics Framing business ethics can be realized through corporate social responsibility programs. In addition to making profits, businesses must accomplish other responsibilities such as conserving the environment and enhancing the well-being of the local communities through various projects. Investing in the local community is considered a long-term improvement because it enhances a companys competitiveness in the industry. However, Rutherford et al. (2012, p.175) contend that if an organization does things for the community to enhance their selfish interests, then those activities are not considered corporate social responsibility, but profit maximization under the disguise of being socially responsible. Being socially responsible is a must for corporations because their actions result in social problems including pollution and environmental degradation due to overexploitation of resources. Besides, corporate activities exhibit social impacts on the local community through services and pro ducts provision or employment of the area people. For this reason, whether their actions are neutral, negative, or positive, corporations have a responsibility to fulfill in the community. Making Decisions in Business Ethics To thrive in the current competitive business world, companies are mandated to make ethical decisions. For this reason, they are expected to analyze the moral implications of the actions they undertake to enhance their competitive advantage in their respective industries. From an ethical viewpoint, a decision that is morally right produces the greatest consequence or outcome such as enhancing a companys performance and boosting employees morale (Neveling, Malan Yortt 2014, p.50). Therefore, organization leaders and managers need to comprehend their moral and ethical beliefs so that they can often utilize them in case they are subjected to various challenges. Ethical beliefs are often applicable when managers and leaders are caught in a dilemma of choosing between two competing decisions. Additionally, ethical decisions entail making a choice between individuals who should take part in the decision-making process as well as how to arrive at a concrete solution. For example, if the de cision being made will have a considerable impact on the community, it is the obligation of the organization leaders to consider a community representative in the decision-making process (Neveling, Malan Yortt 2014, p.63). Likewise, an ethical decision is often reached by consensus rather than by a single person. Regardless, leaders and managers endeavor to make decisions that are ethical, but various situations or factors trigger them to act unethically. For instance, pressure to meet expectations and deadlines, as well as pressure from vendors, customers, bosses, and co-workers, might compel a person to take part in unethical activities (Dolgoff, Loewenberg Harrington 2005, p.125). Unethical decisions are also made when managers or employees are not sure of what they should do. Other factors that influence ethical decision making in the organization include employees cultural and national characteristics, gender and age and psychological factors. For instance, individuals from distinct cultural backgrounds exhibit distinct beliefs regarding an action that is wrong or right. These factors will obviously affect ethical decision making because people have varied perceptions based on their cultures, rel igions, and nations (Neveling, Malan Yortt 2014, p.49). However, organizations can address these challenges by adhering to various stages in their decision-making process. These stages include recognizing the moral issue, making a moral judgment, establishing moral intent, and engaging in the moral behavior. Employees and Business Ethics As the stakeholders of an organization, employees are entitled to certain rights and privileges including the right to privacy, freedom from discrimination, the right to association and participation (Ferrell, Fraedrich Ferrell 2013, p.58). Additionally, they are entitled to safe and healthy working conditions, the right to freedom of speech and conscience as well as fair wages. Regardless these rights, problematic situations often emerge in the workplace environment due to various ethical violations. The ethical violations might be by employees against employers or employers against employees. In some instances, it is the employers and employees working together to frustrate other companies or clients. Ethical issues among employees might revolve around issues such as assault, abuse, fraud, or interpersonal dynamics. For all these reasons, a majority of organizations exhibits documented regulations whose aim is to regulate employees and employer interaction and prevent abuse. Some of the major ethical issues in the organization are as detailed below: Employees Exploitation For employees, workplace conditions are a major challenge and a key factor in strikes and labor regulations. Unethical employers intentionally or through negligence fail to offer employees with safe and healthy working conditions. As a consequence, employees suffer from various injuries and illness (Ferrell, Fraedrich Ferrell 2013, p.96). Another conflict cause among employers and employees is regarding payments. Despite the fact that employees are in pursuit of higher wages, organizations are often willing to pay less for their services. However, some employers are unethical because they overwork and exploit their employees to the point that the government or other non-governmental organizations have to intervene. In fact, some employers do not adhere to the minimum wage laws. Therefore, this practice is not only illegal but unethical. Theft According to Dolgoff, Loewenberg Harrington (2005, p.135), American companies incur a loss of about $ 40billion due to employee theft. Employee theft is triggered by a wide range of factors including low pay, addictive behavior, vengeance due to exploitation and mistreatment by the organization. To address theft factors, organizations often apply strategies that enhance employees morale and take legal action because fraud is illegal and unethical before the law. Making Public Companys Secrets Organizations that are involved in innovation often have structures that bar employees from exposing the company secrets to their competitors. However, staffs having access to this information might be tempted to share it with employees from other firms, either for personal reasons or monetary reward (Neveling, Malan Yortt 2014, p.50). Given the fact that organization staffs are subjected to confidentiality clauses as stipulated in their employment contracts, disclosing company information is considered illegal and unethical thus warranting criminal prosecution. It is also unethical to work against company interests. Abuse of Power Abuse of power by business owners, employers, and managers entails various irritations including sexual harassment, blackmail or offering services to an arrogant employer. Besides, uneconomic inequality between employees and employers often result in unhealthy relationships. Unhealthy relationships are evident when those in authority use their power to mistreat others, especially those in junior positions. Case Study Analysis: Off your Face on Facebook Q.1. The Main Ethical issue in the Case The major ethical issue in the case is the infringement of the candidates privacy rights. For instance, the recruitment manager peruses through the finalist candidates social networking sites without their consent. He even goes a step further to ask an intern about the second candidate background information such as whether she is involved in illegal drugs. Q.2. The Main Ethical Arguments for and Against the use of Social Network Sites for Potential Employers in this Situation The use of social networking sites such as face book provides employers with detailed information regarding the character of the candidate they wish to hire. Before the internet, getting information about the candidate private life was not easy. As such, a majority of employers came to realize late that they hired individuals who were not fit for the company the business because of their reputation. Therefore, it is important for employers to make use of Facebook to unmask candidates who misrepresent themselves during the interview process. Through Facebook, employers can access background information of the candidate as well as the activities he/she is involved to ensure that the candidate they hire has good reputation and can represent the organization better. However, access to person information without their consent is considered an infringement on their privacy rights because details provided on social networking sites are considered personal. In fact, the information is often directed to acquaintances and friends and future employees might misinterpret it. Q.3. Whether the Case Influences the way I might use these Sites in Future The case has really influenced the way use my social networking sites. I am now very sensitive not to post information and upload photos that might jeopardize my future my future employment. Q.4. How I would finally decide as the Human Resource Manager in the Case Situation As a human resources manager, I comprehend that not all information provided on the internet is correct. Instead of judging the candidate based on what is on her Facebook profile, I will make use of the drug and health testing procedures to rule out the possibility of the candidate involving herself in illegal drugs. Conclusion Conclusively, ethics play an essential role in the operations of the company. For instance, business ethics ensures that companies make ethical decisions, treat their employees fairly, and take legal action against those who engage in unethical behaviors such as bribery and corruption and fraud. Likewise, employees can sue their employers for various issues such as discrimination, sexual harassment, and exploitation. However, it is difficult to have a universal Code of Ethics for global businesses because of the distinct perspectives held by various countries regarding moral principles. For instance, the United States advocates for a capitalist framework whereas Europe questions ethical validation of capitalism. Asians, in contrast, base their moral principles on religion, to be precise Buddhism and Islam. References Crane, A., Matten, D., 2010. Business Ethics: Managing Corporate Citizenship and Sustainability in the Age of Globalization. Oxford, Oxford University Press. Dhir, A.A., 2012. Shareholder Engagement in the Embedded Business Corporation: Investment Activism, Human Rights, and TWAIL Discourse. Business Ethics Quarterly, 22 (1): 99 111. Dolgoff, R., Loewenberg, F. M., Harrington, D., 2005. Ethical Decisions for Social Work Practice. Belmont, CA, Brooks/Cole--Thomson Learning. Donaldson, T. Preston, L. E., 1995. The Stakeholder Theory of the Corporation: Concepts, Evidence, and Implications. Academy of Management Review, 20 (1): 65-105. Ferrell, O. C., Fraedrich, J., Ferrell, L., 2013. Business Ethics: Ethical Decision-Making and Cases. Mason, OH, South-Western/Cengage Learning. Goodman, J, Arenas, D., 2015. Engaging Ethically: A Discourse Ethics Perspective on Social Shareholder Engagement. Business Ethics Quarterly, 25(2), pp. 163-189. Jones, K, Chin-Yen Alice, L., 2015. Ethical Decision Making: A Model Demonstrating Collectivism and Individualism Decision Influences. Academy of Business Research Journal, 3, pp. 75-83. Lee, M.-D. P, Lounsbury, M., 2011. Domesticating Radical Rant and Range: An Exploration Corporate Governance. An International Review, 12 (2): 191 201. Martin, K, Parmar, B., 2012. Assumptions in Decision-Making Scholarship: Implications for Business Ethics Research. Journal of Business Ethics, 105, 3, pp. 289-306. McLaren, D., 2004. Global Stakeholders: Corporate Accountability and Investor Engagement of the Consequences of Environmental Shareholder Resolutions on Corporate Environmental Performance. Business and Society, 50 (1): 155 188. Neveling, A, Malan, D, Yortt, A., 2014. Globalization and its Influence on Ethical Decision-Making in Business: China and Intellectual Property. African Journal of Business Ethics, 8, 1, pp. 45-67. Rutherford, M, Parks, L, Cavazos, D, White, C., 2012. Business Ethics as a Required Course: Investigating the Factors Impacting the Decision to Require Ethics in the Undergraduate Business Core Curriculum. Academy of Management Learning Education, 11, 2, pp. 174-186. Trevino, L. K., Nelson, K. A., 2011. Managing Business Ethics: Straight Talk about How to do it Right. New York, John Wiley. Valentine, S, Nam, S, Hollingworth, D, Hall, C., 2014. Ethical Context and Ethical Decision Making: Examination of an Alternative Statistical Approach for Identifying Variable Relationships. Journal of Business Ethics, 124, 3, pp. 509-526.

Implementation of PMO

Question: Evaluating the the implementation and benefits of a Project Management Office? Answer: Executive Summary This paper is written with an aim to understand the benefits as well as implementation PMO so that these can be evaluated and lessons can be learnt on best practices. The results of this research would primarily help an organization planning to adopt or implement PMO in the organization as it would cover the basic building blocks of the practice as well as discusses some cases to illustrate the process of implementation, its effects on the organization and on the realization of benefits against projects which is the main goal of any Project management Office. To fulfil these aims, the paper has discussed the fundamentals of project management office, explored its dimensions including focus, operational modes and maturity that are important to understand as it would establish a basis for selection of project management office structure. Further, the paper discusses the implementation process of PMO and illustrates the same with a case study of an organization in which PMO has been implemented successfully. The cases are used for evaluating the process of implementation of PMO as well as the benefits obtained from the same after implementation. The insights obtained from the case are discussed for bringing for the lessons as well as recommendations is made for using best practices for implementation of the project management office. Introduction Project is a temporary endeavour, which has definite start, definite end, and specific goals or benefits to be achieved or realized on completion. Project Management involves planning, organizing, resource management and managing security of projects. Project Management Office is a department within an organization that manages and controls project based activities of the organization. PMOs standardize project management methods based on Project Management principles in order to achieve benefits for the organization. PMO guides the organization through management of various projects, and provides required documents as well as performance metrics. During recession, companies have faced many challenges that made achieving benefits from projects very important. History has shown several failed projects that have lead to huge losses. Thus, there is an increase urgency to use project management methods for making projects successful, as failing projects are no more accepted. The failed projects are also required to be studied to learn lessons. Project Management Office makes all this possible in an organized and standardized way which makes it uncomplicated to adopt project management practices to achieve benefits from projects. In 2000, there were only 47% of US organizations that had Project Management Office for managing projects but this figure has increased significantly to 84% by 2010 which showing the increasing importance and adoption of PMO across organizations. To realize the key aim that is to get significant benefits out of projects, the PMO must be implemented as well as worked out properly. Thus, this dissertation focuses on benefits of the PMO and how they can be realized in practice as well as on the implementation process of PMO. For new companies adopting PMO, this paper can serve as a guide to using best practices for implementation of PMO so that the results could be appreciable when the PMO starts to act on projects in the organization. Literature review The increasing importance of PMO is recent years has lead to development of different types of PMOs that are established by organizations. These include departmental PMOs, special purpose PMO, supplier PMO, external PMO, and Enterprise PMOs. Internal and external PMOs manage specific parts of organizational commitments such as service and support are managed by external PMO that directly deals with customers while internal PMOs manage self-improvements within the organization. Most organizations use departmental PMOs that have internally focused and which consist of small group of manager working on specific types of projects. However, such type of PMO has its limitations especially when resources have to be accessed from outside the department. Thus, an Enterprise PMO may used for overcoming these drawbacks. An enterprise PMO would have both internal and external PMO responsibilities and work across organization for managing resources and project deliveries. The focus of PMOs that can be internal or external makes only one dimension of PMO, others include operational modes that can be supportive, controlling, directive or blended with all three models combined, and maturity of PMO which can be ad hoc, defined, controlled, measured or optimized. All these dimensions are important to understand as they can be taken into consideration while establishing a PMO in an organization (Taylor, 2011). Structure of a PMO Figure 1: Project Organization Chart A project organization includes creation of project structure, implementation of that structure and application of it. Project organization structure includes project managers connected with formal relationships, project beneficiaries and stakeholders. The structure must be simplified and allow effective interactions. It should not be very loose or even very tight and must provide a formal environment that influences project team to perform their duties in best way with collaboration assisting them. This collaboration should be made cost effective such that there is no or least duplication any work or task. While designing a project management office structure, specializations and coordination needs have to be considered. A project may require a specific specialization or a mix of capabilities from different specializations. Thus, on every project, the goals can vary and thus, a different structure may be required for managing a project, which presents a challenge while establishing a PMO structure. Further, the goals of a project are divided into tasks for specific components of the project and these tasks are listed in a Work Break Down Structure. A project manage has to ensure that these project components are integrated the right way to achieve goals of a project. Thus, based on the project goals, components may vary and thus, the organization structure requirement would also vary. Thus, in order to establish an effective PMO structure, it has to be made flexible enough to be modified for different projects based on project goals, components and tasks. Various types of PMO structures can be programme based, matrix based or project based. Program Based PMO In program based PMO's, project teams are created by including employees from same area. This structure has clear line of authority and in case of big projects a team does not need to use resources from other departments or project team. However, all team members included may not have all required expertise for specific projects if they require speciality resources. Moreover, several members of the team may not be working on some projects for full time, as they would be involved with other projects as well. This can affect their capabilities to complete work on time. Matrix based PMO Matrix based organizations have staff with specific technical competencies and the can be sourced on the basis of specific project requirements. In such an organization, people could be working on multiple projects and reporting to multiple project managers for each of those projects. This structure provides efficient resource utilization including specialist skills that cannot be used full time on projects. It is very flexible to changing needs of projects. For instance, one unit manager can source a staff member from another unit manager without the need of making a permanent change in the organization structure. Moreover, team members can easily share information across organization as well as can learn specific skills related to different specialization allowing them to grow in the company. However, this structure is very complex when concerning reporting. Team members are required to have very strong time management skills to be able to handle multiple projects and report to multiple managers. A very strong coordination is required between all programmatic unit managers as well as project managers. While managing projects in such organization, it becomes very difficult for project managers to complete projects, as they have to satisfy more than one programmatic managers who may be having different objectives and priorities. Project based PMO These types of organizations are usually practiced in large projects that can afford an organization structure with duplication of tasks. However, in such a organization, resources are not utilized cost efficiently as they would be working dedicatedly working on projects full time even when they are not required full time. As project team members would be absorbed on specific projects even after they are not required, they cannot be taken on other projects which limits their learning and professional development. Another concern is that there is duplication of resources and after every project completion, resources have to be reallocated. Mixed Structure Mixed structure is formed out of the three different structures such that different requirements of different projects can be easily accommodated and benefits of all the three structures including program, matrix and project can be realized. For instance, a small project requiring limited resources can take people for part-time from other units while a large project can source members for full time from the project based structure(Diaz, 2007). Responsibilities of a PMO Key responsibilities of PMO include use of project management practice, development of project management methodology, training and certifications management, resource management, project reporting, coaching, mentoring, supporting, quality control, financial monitoring and support, project selection and decision making. Stakeholders Management Stakeholders are people, groups or entities that are affected by the success and failure of an action or those who affect the performance of an action which in the case of project management office is leadership of the PMO. Thus, stakeholder management is an important task for any project driven organization. Various stakeholders of PMO include board members, executive team of project organization, business leaders, operation managers, project sponsors, partners, customers and the leader of PMO. To manage stakeholders, PMOs can use the basic process of stakeholder management, which involves stakeholder identification, analysis, creation of influence maps or stakeholder matrix, stakeholder engagement and maintaining of communication flow with stakeholders. The different types of PMO structure provide a platform and a platform to decide which PMO structure in which scenario i.e. for specific project matrix based PMO is a good option whereas project based PMO is a better option for large projects. Implementation Any new implementation in an organization is always aimed at improving something's or addressing a pain or a gap, it applies to the implementation of PMO. Thus, the initial step of planning a PMO would include identification of issues that are to be resolved or the benefits that are sought. For instance, a PMOs may be set up for addressing issues like low quality of deliverables, budget overruns, and so on or for gaining a benefit of avoiding lost opportunities. These issues or benefits have be assessed by recording them and analysing the experiences of the organization against them. In this stage, it is also important to talk to stakeholders, and take their inputs to finalize the assessment. A proper way of assessing these benefits or issues would be quantification of their impacts. After assessment is done, next step would be to develop benefits statements for the PMO, which would set a growth plan for the PMO in the organization. This benefit statement can cover different aspects for improvement including people, process, and promotion, performance, and project management information system. For instance, some benefits that a PMO would bring to these elements of the project organization could be: People: Train people on project management, build teams, conduct inductions or assess performances. Process: Develop methodology, incorporate certification programs, establish quality assurance process or assess process performance. Performance: Project profiling, dashboard creation, KPI development, business scorecard creation or managing funds for ROI. Based on the benefits sought, a benefit statement could include "Bettering performance by making timely deliveries" if project aspect is considered or "Improve efficiency of projects by standardizing methods and operations used" if business aspect is considered. Other examples of benefit statements include higher resource utilization by improving allocation of resources and capacity planning, improving prioritization of works by setting realistic insights, improving project status reporting by making it fast and accurate, improving customer satisfaction by ensuring that project deliverables meet customer expectations, etc. Before finalizing the benefits statement, project leaders must also seek views of stakeholders and only after their approval should the statement be sealed. After the benefits statement is known, the next step is to decide on the type and model of the PMO for which the three key dimensions of PMO including focus, operational modes and maturity have to be explored. Once the basic structure to be used for PMO is decided, an evolution plan has to be created for development of PMO. This plan starts at the department level and expands gradually to scale up to the enterprise in future after gaining experience and having a track record of successful project completions. Case study: Arcelik RD Arcelik was an RD Centre that had Research and Development Units in multiple locations for certain products including washing machines, dishwashers, refrigerator, coolants, dryers, compressors, televisions and monitors. The organization had 22,000 employees and production plants in 14 different locations across five countries including China, Turkey, Romania, Russia and South Africa. At global level, their sales and marketing groups were spread across 20 countries for managing 10 brands of the company including Arelik, Beko, Grundig, Blomberg, ElektraBregenz, Arctic, Leisure, Flavel, Defy and Altus. The PMO was established in manufacturing locations of the organization in 1997, with aim to monitor multiple projects simultaneously. There was a central RD PMO that was used as an excellence centre, which shared their knowledge with plant PMOs. The PMO was established in the organization through four key phases. In the first phase, a project management software was installed at the central RD PMO, which was established in the head office of the company. In second phase, an assessment was done on the organizational employees against their awareness about project management. Those who did not have the required knowledge have to be trained on project management practices. In this phase, the project management software was also implemented in number of plant locations. This assessment included study of different dimensions of Project Management including: Project Management elements like time, resources, budget, risk, change and knowledge. Project Management Maturity aspects such as Project Management Methodology, software usage, coaching, planning, controlling and reporting. Further, best practices for project management were communicated to different groups. These practices included internalization of project management methodology, project review meetings, organization wide use of standard project templates and stage gate implementation. The result of the assessment was a discovery of areas for improvement and these were project leader trainings, change management, and performance evaluation. In the third phase, the process of establishment was coordinated and project management was initiated by all production as well as technical groups. The project management process that was to be followed according to the software installed was assessed and integration was carried out with other existing tools and processes. This involved establishing of a standard for project life cycle for all projects at Arcelik. In the last phase, all projects were properly defined and project leader as well as project team members were trained on project reporting through the project management software installed. Data collection and analysis Justifying case study The case was chosen as the goal of establishing the PMO was very clear as they wanted to monitor their projects that were carried out at multiple locations, from a central place. Another reason for choosing this case was that the organization was large and was project driven. Thus, the need for establishing project management office was prominent. Moreover, the PMO implementation process was carried out in a very organized manner in the company. Moreover, the researcher could extract clear learning from the case study where project management principles could be applied for understanding the situations. After the PMO was established and was successfully ran, by 2012, some improvements were observed in the company including improvements in 30% of the projects managed and development of new projects that added 30% to the total count of 900 projects in the year. 20% of project successfully completed were on technology development and 20% were investment related (Crawford, 2001). Research method The proposed paper will make use of sample which is composed of firms existing within the same corporate. along with this, a cross sectional design will be used. the survey consists of a questionnaire having questions framed out from the identified factors. It is an online based set of questions with 15 close ended questions on every factor. It was developed using IBM SPSS base software. The survey chosen is a self-administered because of low costs and easily maintenance. Articles were not used for examination because of cost involved and contradictory results achieved from them. since firms involved are present at different locations so the online survey will greatly reduce the time, effort and cost involved in getting the response by the researcher. Though it has a plus point of cost-effective but it comes with a weakness which cannot be ignored. It will require internet connectivity which is still an issue in developing countries. Also the resources which are going to take this su rvey should have computer skills in order to carry out the survey properly. Key findings from Case Study Some key learning obtained from the evaluation of the PMO implementation at Arcelik were: PMO requires a significant change in the working culture of the organization and thus, it takes a lot of time to carry out these changes. Coaching and mentoring were very important in working of PMO. Moreover, regular meetings between team members at each project office were required. PMO primarily worked on the people aspect and involved convincing of all stakeholders, failing which PMO would not have flourished in the organization. Support from the upper management was crucial and thus, regular meetings were to be held between them and project leaders. Initially, a pilot has to be started for project and the projects must be completed in a step-by-step manner, as it would make the process simpler and faster. Proper integration with other processes was important and time consuming. As a result, roadmaps and long term plans were required to be made for integration. Managing project complexity One primary task of PMO is to manage complexities of the project such that the project is completed on time and within budget as well as gives all the deliverables promised. Thus, understanding how complexities can be managed on projects is crucial. For this, an understanding of the complexity in terms of project would be required. Complexity is one important dimension in project management, as complex projects need strong management. Complexity can be explained in terms of differentiation that is presence of number of elements such as tasks, components and specialists, and in terms of connectivity that is the degree of relationships between these elements(Austin, Newton, Steele, Waskett, 2002). Differentiation can be vertical caused by a large set of hierarchies or horizontal resulting from multiple number of organizational units or task structures. Connections in these elements can be explained by interdependencies between organizational units resulting into high level of complexity. Complexity is managed by proper integration, which involves creation of coordination and communication between different elements of complexity as well as establishing of control over these interdependent components(Baccarini, 1996). Human Resource Management Human Resource Management is one of the crucial domains of the success of any organization and thus, it becomes important to study the level of importance it carries in the project management which involves management of multiple resources out of which human resource is one. Administrative functions of an organization are important in the success of the project and thus, human resource management on a project must be efficiently carried out by PMOs(Belout Gauvreau, 2004). For managing HRM on projects, certain key processes are involved. These include Recruitment and selection, training and development, performance appraisals, and deployment of employee compensation system. Key implications Implementation of PMO can have significant effects on an organization such as: The working culture of the organization changes drastically as people have to learn to adopt project management principles and practices The levels of monitoring increase as the PMO would be keeping check on the progress of projects. This could appear to be a little binding for project managers but for the organization, it can be considered as an efficient way of working as it could lead to transparency in setting responsibilities. As the organized project management practices are deployed in organizations adopting PMOs, the number of projects that complete within allotted time frame and within budget would increase, as these are the focus of PMOs. Training would become crucial in the organization, as project management practices require understanding of methodologies, standards as well as related technologies. Initial adoption of project management practices could appear complicated as lot of learning would be required but in the long run, processes would be simplified, improved and would become faster. As PMOs integrate both older and new processes, the organization would be able to stand as a single uncomplicated entity where everyone and every process would be connected in some way. PMOs would practice standardization at the organizational level and thus, everyone in the organization would be able to use standard processes, methodologies and documentations which would improve efficiencies by saving on time that would otherwise be wasted in developing processes, methodologies and documents for individual projects. PMOs would not only manage existing projects but would also create a learning repository based on previous projects which would allow project teams to learn from past projects such that mistakes could be avoided in future projects as well as best practices could be used repeatedly for success. Conclusions This paper was concentrated on understanding of the process of implementation of a project management office and evaluation of its efficiency in terms of gaining benefits for a project driven organization. It covered fundamental concepts of project management office, it dimensions and implementation process. It also explained different types of project management organization structures including program based PMO, matrix based PMO and project based PMO. It was found that many organizations practiced a structure, which is a mix of these three types of organizations and thus can utilize the benefits of all while avoiding loopholes. For practical understanding of the implementation of PMO, a case study of a multinational organization was taken which gave some practical learning such as: Training is crucial in a project oriented organization; PMO implementation requires change of the working culture of an organization which cannot be carried out in short time but requires significant time for adoption, etc. Two key functions of PMO including management of complexities and human resource management were also discussed and it was found that integration was the key to managing complexities while HRM on project required certain practices to be followed such as Recruitment and selection, training and development, performance appraisals, and deployment of employee compensation system. Lastly, the implications of deploying a PMO in an organization, which is new to project management practice, were summarized. It required an organization to understand the project management principles, train their employees on the same, create documentations for new processes and integrate new processes with old processes for smooth functioning of the organization managing projects. Team members should also record project progress, issues and learning in central project repository to allow members of future projects to use these learning to enable best practices as well as avoid mistakes in future. References Polat, M., MeydanlÄ ±, Ä °. Ä °. (2013). Case study: project management office implementation in a multilocation. Picmet. Austin, S., Newton, A., Steele, J., Waskett, P. (2002). Modelling and managing project complexity. International Journal of Project Management , 20, 193-198. Baccarini, D. (1996). The concept of project complexity : A Review. International Journal of Project Management , 14 (4), 201-204. Belout, A., Gauvreau, C. (2004). 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