Project Proposal Essay Example for Free

Project Proposal Essay 1. Recommend a project portfolio management method for your selected project. Provide a rationale for your recommendation. Note: Be sure to align your project with the strategic efforst of the organization. 2. Create an outline of an executive summary that includes the type of problem, requirements, and proposed business problems solutions. 3. State the vision and the goal of the project. Note: Be sure that the goals are specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely (SMART). 4. Determine five (5) major deliverables of the project, and explain the importance of each one. 5. Provide the timeframe for delivering the solution to the project. 6. Create a table which contains the generic resources, including people, equipment , and materials needed to undertake the project. 7. Estimate the total budget for the project based on the cost of the resources specified in the table that you have created . Next, add contingency and any other additional costs (e.g. intangible cost, the cost of a change in culture or process within the the business etc.). Support your response. 8. Determine the key success criteria for your project. Provide a rationale to support your response. 9. Assume that your project is delivered on time, within scope, and budget. Justify your stakeholders’ satisfactory level with three (3) key success criteria, against which the project will be measured. 10. Use at least three (3) quality resources in this assignment.

Comparison of Erikson Kohlbergs Developmental Theories

Comparison of Erikson Kohlbergs Developmental Theories Name the chosen significant developmental aspects and stages of your adult life identify key aspects of each of the two developmental theories Adult development refers to psychological and social changes in an human life. These changes could be fast and gradual. Changes occur at the cellular level and are partially explained by biological theories of adult development and aging. (Hayflick, 1998). These biological changes are often described as theories of human development. Stage theories typically focus on â€Å"age-appropriate† developmental tasks to be achieved at each stage. I have chosen to discuss Eriksons Theory Personality and Kohlbergs Stages of Moral Development. The first chosen developmental aspects and stages of my adult life is Erik Eriksons theory based on human development over a life span (Erikson, 1963). Erikson developed 8 stages starting from childhood, adolescence and adulthood, stages shown below. During each stage, one developmental task is dominant, but may be carried forward into later stages as well. According to Erikson, individuals may experience tension when advancing to new stages of development, and seek to establish equilibrium within each stage. (Glassman Hadad, 2009) The second development aspect and stages of my adult life is Lawrence Kohlbergs Stages of Moral Development (Kohlberg, 1981). Kohlbergs model is based on moral reasoning and ethical behaviour which involves 6 developmental stages. Each stage is grouped into 3 levels; pre-conventional morality, conventional morality and post-conventional morality as shown below. Kohlberg found that moral development was mainly formed around justice and would continue through human life span. Kohlberg was determined to find out how people justify their actions if they were placed in a predicament where their morals were pushed. Progress through Kohlbergs stages happens as a result of the individuals increasing competence, both psychologically and in balancing conflicting social-value claims. Knowledge and learning contribute to moral development. Specifically important are the individuals view of persons and their social perspective level, each of which becomes more complex and mature with each advancing stage. Analyse the chosen developmental events with reference to two major developmental theories. The first developmental event I have chose is Love: Intimacy vs. Isolation (young adulthood) from Eriksons 8 stage theory. This stage typically occurs ages from 20 to 39 years. At the beginning of this stage the previous stage is ending at Idenitiy vs. Role Confusion, which is the part of young adults lives where they still feel the need and urge to fit in with friends. Young adults want to fit in with their peer group and be accepted. Moving into the next stage of having the feeling of either isolation, which is pulling away from intimacy and relationships. This can be evidenced by being afraid of rejections or being hurt and distancing yourself from any type of love interest because of these negative feelings, or be able to form an intimate relationship. Once people have established their identities, they are ready to make long-term commitments to others. They become capable of forming intimate, reciprocal relationship through marriage or close friendships The second developmental event that I have chosen is Level 2- Conventional from Kohlbergs Model. This consists of Stage 3 Stage 4. This level typically occurs at adolescence and young adulthood. Young adults begin to judge the morality of actions by comparing them to societys views and expectations. This is characterised by an acceptance of societys conventions concerning right and wrong. A young adult will obey rules and follows societys norms even when there are no consequences for obedience or disobedience. During Stage 3 of Level 2, young adults enter the social order and conform to social standards. Stage three reasoning may judge the morality of an action by evaluating its consequences in terms of a persons relationships, which now begin to include things like respect, gratitude and the concept of treating others how you would like to be treated. It is important to be liked and fit in with society. In Stage 4 of Level 2 young adults begin to understand the importance of obeying the laws and social conventions in order to maintain a functional society. Stage 4 provides a sense of justice and the ability to determine what is right and wrong. legal responsibility is evident at this stage. Morality starts to become dictated by outside forces. Reflect on your personal responses and experiences in relation to these significant developmental aspects and stages I believe that within my life I am at the developmental stage of each of Eriksons Theory: Love, Intimacy vs. Isolation and Kohlbergs Model: Conventional- Stages 3 and 4 At this point in my life I believe my romantic relationship is at the Eriksons stage of Intimacy vs. isolation as I am getting to a time in my life where I want a serious relationship however I acknowledge that I am frightened of getting hurt and won’t allow myself to open up, therefore I isolate myself to protect my ego from being bruised. Erikson (1963) states that in this stage our egos cannot bear the pain of rejection such as being turned down or our partners breaking up with us. In regards to Kohlbergs Model I believe I am at the Conventional Level and a mixture of both Stages 3 and 4. In my personal relationships I show and also expect respect from others. I also am aware of kindness and privileges in life and show gratitude -even for the small things. I treat my family, friend and colleagues as I would like to be treated. At this point in my life I have such high morals as evidenced in stage 4, in regards to drugs. I am 25 years old and do not use drugs ,however I have friends around me who use drugs recreationally. I am acutely aware of what is right and wrong, and what is legally and socially acceptable in societal norm. I have an acute sense of moral judgment and do not like getting involved with those that abuse this position. I think how stupid can you be drugs are so dangerous not only can they psychically harm you but mentally as well, apart from being against the law. In conclusion, I feel that a combination of the developmental philosophies as designed by Erikson Kohlberg are relevant to the stage in my life that I am currently in. I believe that psychological development involves physical, sensory, cognitive, social and emotional processes, and the interactions among them. If I focus on where my future lies, it becomes clear that change is inevitable. This will occur through the progression through the different developmental phases. Reference current literature and integrate relevant theory into your essay discussion Erikson, E.H. (1963) Childhood and Society. 2edn. New York: Norton Glassman, W.E. Hadad, M. (2009) Approaches to Psychology . Fifth Edition. London. Mcgraw-Hill Hayflick, L. (1998). How and why we age. Experimental Gerontology, 33, 639-653. Kohlberg, L. (1981) The Meaning and Measurement of Moral Development (Volume 13)

To Tell Or To Lie :: essays research papers

To Tell or to Lie Maral Frendjian For modern students, a training in rhetoric such as that offered by Gorgias is more preferable, rather than learning how to distinguish truth from falsehood. It is the art of forceful language, emphasizing figures of speech and focusing on devices for swaying and persuading an audience, that would be most beneficial for students lives today. Despite the fact that it is simply ornamented language to make a good facade, the rhetoric by Gorgias is necessary for the success of students, especially those who would like to "sell" their ideas, products or beliefs to the people (the larger population). In the world we live in, there are many ways of getting the things that we want. The way most people would like to believe that their accomplishments were achieved is through hard work and sweat. However, that is not how it works, because most people around the world lie to get things to go their way. A perfect example of a group of people that use the rhetoric are politicians. Politicians will say and do anything to convince the citizens that they are right, and that they will do all they promise to do, if you vote for him or her. They try to convince us all the time, and often succeed, that they will make changes. Just think about the many times we've heard, "If you vote for me, I will lower the taxes." Gorgias makes a very clear point regarding the power of the rhetoric. The following quote from Gorgias expresses the impact that rhetoric can have on those listening. I mean the ability to convince by means of speech a jury in a court of justice, members of the Council in their Chamber, voters at a meeting of the Assembly, and any other gathering of citizens whatever it may be. By the exercise of this ability you will have the doctor and the trainer as your slaves, and your man of business will turn out to be making money not for himself but for another; for you, in fact, who have the ability to speak and to convince the masses. (Gorgias, p.28 sec. 453) What Gorgias is saying in the preceding quote is about the amazing power of persuasion. He is saying that if you have the ability to convince, you have the power to sway anyone listening by your ideas. He demonstrates the diverse situations in which the "ability to convince" can help the persuader, by giving him the power so that the control will be in his or her hands. Convincing is not only a form of speech, it is a form of twisting the truth,

Personal Essay :: essays research papers

How could such a happy name inspire so much fear? Throughout the school, this name was dreaded, feared, cursed, and abused. At the beginning of the school year, there would always be a student weeping with hatred, crying out against his crazed science teacher, Mr. Joy. People thought of him as the embodiment of all evil possible in a teacher, a heartless dictator, a cruel old man. When he walked by, he often got stares, and whispers of â€Å"Hitler† behind his back. On that hot languid September morning, I sat in stony silence at my desk, hearing the warnings of upperclassmen echoing in my ears, waiting for Mr. Joy to appear.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As he walked in, I breathed a temporary sigh of relief. At least I am taller than him! A short wiry man with an almost military gait marched into the room. The hair on his slightly balding head was thoroughly brushed back, his clothes impeccably starched, and his shoes polished so well you could see your own reflection in them. His face seemed hardened by time and experience; he looked bitter, even a little sad. But the most striking feature about his face was his eyes: they seemed to shine with a fierce passion, a burning desire, but for what? As he talked to us about the extensive course requirements, his high expectations, and the heavy workload, we all fidgeted with nervousness in our seats. He spoke with a grim sense of determination, and we listened with a sense of impending doom. But then, suddenly, his voice changed, and his eyes glowed with more intensity than ever before. He told us about his love for biology, and how much he wished that he could impart it to us. He told us about the beauty of the complexity of life in every organism from a delicate butterfly to a steadfast giant sequoia. He was so excited about the recent developments in molecular biology and genetics, but his enthusiasm seemed sincere and real: it wasn’t just the over-caffeinated perkiness of a cheerful kindergarten teacher; it was a genuine love for learning and discovery. The assignments were long and difficult: in the first week itself we were required to memorize the entire periodic table and recite it to the class. Day after day, week after week, students faltered in class, and they were embarrassed: it seemed worse because he didn’t yell; he simply stared at you sternly yet sadly, and calmly called on the next person.

Chaucers The Canterbury Tales Essay -- Chaucer Canterbury Tales Essay

Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales While the majority of literary classics today do well at engaging the reader and allowing them a vicarious understanding of a fictitious character’s life, Chaucer found a way to engage more than just the reader and the character. In his Canterbury Tales, Chaucer masterfully links together himself as the author, himself as a character in the story, the other characters, and then finally the readers. Chaucer’s â€Å"narrative flow† forms a type of giant sphere, where connections can be made from both characters and real people to characters connecting with other characters. Starting with Chaucer-the man, it is apparent that he is looking at his characters, the pilgrims on their journey. As he is writing their stories and descriptions, Chaucer is creating them to emulate people he has found in real life. Chaucer watches his own created characters to see how they react and therefore expresses his personal views of certain classes of people. Chaucer-the man also sees Chaucer-the pilgrim. Like his created pilgrims in the story, Chaucer has found a way to put ...

Donnie Darko

Donnie Darko Assessment Dashiell Lieberman I would like to answer this question not as the Dashiell we all know and love but as an existential Dashiell. As an existentialist I would want the truth and the facts; that is a lot different than wanting an explanation. An existentialist doesn't believe that everything needs an explanation and a reason. They believe in the cold hard truth and facts like the great existential characters Donnie Darko and Mersault of The Stranger, who died for representing the ultimate truth like Christ.So the truth I seek for my one day outside of reality is the creation of the world, the universe and who or what is the creator. Everything else in this world has been altered and corrupted by man and society but not the beginning; that is true and untouched. I want to know the overall truth of the world, the great mystery that the whole world has wondered. The origin of everything is my biggest wonder as a man just looking for the truth with no explanations o r interpretations.I would travel through time and space searching and observing the creation of everything that has come to be. I would love to talk to the creator, if so, and just ask him some casual questions or learn of our scientific origins and it's amazement. If I had this one day I wouldn't waste it by doing insignificant things to make me happy for an hour; I would go big of course, I mean really big. I want these hours of freedom to change my life forever giving me the ultimate truth of the world so as an existentialist I can be satisfied knowing that there is no meaning or maybe there is.

Putnam [email protected] Case

Cost and Benefit Analysis of [email  protected] One of the primary advantages of the [email  protected] program is that it creates a cost advantage. Having employees work at home as opposed to in-facility is significantly less costly. According to Table A in the case, annual recurring costs for each individual working in-facility is around $10,650. That is over twice the recurring cost of the average [email  protected] employee with an ISDN connection and over 20 times the annual recurring cost of a [email  protected] employee with a cable modem connection.Given the large quantity [email  protected] employees at Putnam, this program provides a method of greatly reducing recurring costs in the short and long term. Additionally, the e-learning program costs less than half of what the traditional training process costs. It even better prepares employees for the job because the quality of the training is higher and individuals can complete the training at their own pace. Moreov er, [email  protected] employees feel that Putnam has made a sizeable investment in them, and feeling is supported by high productivity rates and decreased turnover.The turnover rate among [email  protected] employees is around 8% which is significantly lower than the Putnam average of 30%. By training employees for less and retaining them for longer, Putnam decreases both recruiting and training costs by a significant margin. Furthermore, the [email  protected] program allows Putnam to expand their business into new areas without having to invest in additional real estate. And because the majority of these [email  protected] employees are from rural areas where the cost of living is lower than locations near Putnam’s office facilities, Putnam can get away with paying [email  protected] employees less than their in-facility counterparts.All these factors contribute to the low cost advantage that the [email  protected] program creates. Because Putnam only allows hi gh productivity workers the option of working at home, the [email  protected] program can provide an incentive for employees to increase their productivity. According to a Putnam manager, anyone who is eligible to work from home and who wants to can work at home as long as he has higher than average productivity. Anyone at Putnam who desires to work from home will have the incentive to increase productivity above the mean so that they will have the option of working from home. However, this ncentive only applies to workers who have jobs that allow them to work from home. Also, many people like the social experience that the office brings and have no desire to work from home. One of the pitfalls of using this program as an incentive is that there is no reason for employees to produce anything higher than the company average. However, all things considered, this program does incentivize a select group of individuals to boost their productivity levels. Various costs arise from the [e mail  protected] program as well. It takes a special type of person to succeed in a [email  protected] position.Employees must be willing to sacrifice the social aspect of work and must be good at solving problems on their own because immediate help cannot always be obtained. Unfortunately the workers who fit the [email  protected] criteria do not necessarily bring about optimal production for Putnam. The most qualified and potentially productive candidates may find the [email  protected] program to be unfulfilling. Consequently Putnam is forced to accept candidates who while still productive, may not produce optimally. In fact, overqualified candidates in Vermont and Mane tended to have higher turnover rates due to the unfulfilling nature of the work.One of the other primary costs of the program is the communication barrier. By not being in-facility, [email  protected] employees cannot as easily talk to co-workers or supervisors about work-related problems. Also they are not exposed to the culture and are unable to get as good of a sense of how the company operates compared to in-facility workers. Putnam has tried to mitigate these costs through the advent of the chat system and other communication methods, but the fact remains that communication is not as good as it is among in-facility workers. Finally, employee performance needs to be monitored a bit more closely with [email  protected]Due to the lack of social pressure among co-workers to perform, employees could be tempted to shirk. But Putnam’s performance evaluation process has eliminated this problem, and in fact, [email  protected] employees have been equally if not more productive than in-facility workers. Human Resources Policies Overall I think Putnam is doing a pretty good job with regards to its human resources policies in the [email  protected] program. However, I feel a few changes could be made that could improve the program. According to some Putnam managers, monitorin g an employee working at home is not significantly different from monitoring employees in-facility.Rather, supervisors just have to monitor what’s going on â€Å"in different ways†. If it really isn’t much more costly or time consuming to monitor [email  protected] employees as opposed to in-facility employees, I see no reason to offer [email  protected] opportunities exclusively to high productivity employees. My recommendation is that Putnam rank workers on a relative scale in quintiles and assign each quintile a grade of A, B, C, D, or E with A workers being the top 20% and E workers the bottom 20%. Employees should not be made aware of their rankings.Next, my recommendation is that Putnam select a sample of employees from each of the bottom three quintiles to work at home for a period of 6 months to a year. The reasoning for only using the bottom three quintiles is that the top two quintiles are already eligible to work at home. The purpose of the experi ment is to determine from a cost standpoint whether or not it is advantageous to allow average and below average employees to work at home. Putnam should use the exact same evaluation process and compensation system with these employees. In other words, they should be treated no differently from the typical [email  protected] employee.Putnam should then compare the productivity numbers of the experimental [email  protected] employees and compare them to their respective productivity numbers from when they worked in-facility. If there is not a huge discrepancy in their productivity, then it may be advantageous for Putnam to allow employees of average to below average productivities to participate in the [email  protected] program. In fact, because overhead costs are so low for [email  protected] employees compared to in-facility counterparts, it could still be advantageous from a cost standpoint for Putnam to allow these employees to work at home even if their productivities drop off a bit.There are two major concerns I would have with employees in the bottom 3 quintiles working at home. One is that worker productivity will drop without direct monitoring. The second is that monitoring costs will spike due to the employees’ lack of motivation to do the job alone at home. If the increased costs of monitoring and the value of lost productivity do not exceed the difference in overhead cost between [email  protected] and in-facility employees, then Putnam should definitely consider allowing more employees to work at home.Doing so could decrease operating costs and increase profits in the long run. By performing this experiment Putnam can figure out how to optimally take advantage of its unique [email  protected] program. The limitation of this is that it may not be possible to assign a dollar amount to the cost of increased supervisory monitoring or the value of lost productivity. In light of this, it may be difficult to determine any cost advanta ges from performing this experiment. With regards to employee evaluation and compensation, I believe Putnam is doing a more than adequate job.By using both quantitative and subjective measures of performance like accuracy and call screening, Putnam keeps [email  protected] employees on their toes and producing at a high level. Additionally, by offering bonuses tied to performance of up to 20% of base salary, Putnam does a solid job of aligning [email  protected] employees interests with the company’s. The high level of productivity and low turnover rate among [email  protected] employees is proof that these policies work. One other aspect of HR that could be improved is making a clear cut path of promotion from [email  protected] employee up to a higher level position like manager or supervisor.By establishing a clear path to a higher level job in the company, Putnam can inspire its [email  protected] employees to work harder than ever. However, this could result in employee sabotage and decreased collaboration among [email  protected] employees. Employees may refrain from helping each other out because they are all seeking the same promotion. Experimental [email  protected] The first thing the travel agency should do is come up with a method of measuring employee performance. Without an accurate method of measuring performance, the experiment will not yield any meaningful results.The travel agency ideally would find a quantitative measure of performance that helps predict the total profit or revenues of the firm. By finding a quantitative measure that drives revenues, the travel agency can be sure that their method of evaluation will tie closely into firm performance. For the sake of simplicity in this exercise, I will assume that the number of clients served is the quantitative measure that most closely measures firm profitability and employee productivity. The next step in performing this experiment would be to research the costs associ ated with having a call center employee work at home as opposed to in-facility.If it is not any cheaper to have employees work at home, then there is no reason to even perform the experiment. This difference in cost is between work at home and in-facility employees will eventually determine whether or not a work at home program would be advantageous for the travel agency. The major cost would likely be installing the work phone in each employee’s house. There could be other costs in addition, however, like increased supervisory costs. Next, similar to my strategy for Putnam, I would rank all call center employees on a relative scale based on productivity and divide them into quartiles.Then I would take a random selection of a given amount of employees from each productivity quartile. These randomly selected individuals would be the ones taking part in the work at home experiment. These individuals would work at home for a lengthy period of say 6 months to a year. The travel a gency should heavily monitor their productivity during their time working at home, which in this case would be keeping track of clients served. At the end of the trial period of the work at home experiment, the travel agency should collect all the data regarding the participating individuals’ productivity.Their productivity should be compared to each individual’s respective productivity in the 6 months to a year prior to the experiment. Also, to adjust for possible seasonal factors influencing productivity, the travel agency could compare each work at home employee’s productivity to other employees in the same quartile who work in facility. The main concern here should be that worker productivity could decrease to the point that it would not be cost effective for the travel agency to have employees work at home, in spite of the fact that it probably costs significantly less in overhead to have employees work at home.If possible, the travel agency should attempt to assign dollar values to the additional costs of productivity loss and supervision from having employees work at home. If these additional costs are less than the difference in overhead cost between work at home and in-facility employees, then implementing a work at home program would probably be advantageous for the travel agency. There is a reason workers are ranked on a relative scale at the beginning of the experiment. Call center employees of different productivities may respond differently to working at home.The highest productivity employees are probably the most intrinsically motivated, and thus we would expect to see not as large a drop off in their performance as employees in other quartiles. Based on the data collected at the end of the experiment, the travel agency could decide that it is only profitable to allow employees above a certain level of performance standard to work at home. The firm could then use this standard as a benchmark and incentive for employees to o btain in order to get the option of working at home.