Management styles and strategies in small firm Essay Example for Free

Management styles and strategies in small firm Essay Management literature provides us a number of management styles practiced by managers and leaders across the globe through the years. A manager’s style is largely determined by many factors in the organization including the structure and the size of resources available as well as the managerial capacity of the owner. The mode of operations and styles in small firms are determined by the transactional nature of the firm as well as the nature and capacity of the manager-cum-owner. Authoritarian Management Style. Some managers of small firms practice the authoritarian management style. With the inherent characteristics of being small, managers of small firms take absolute control of a workplace situation, without reference to the views and inputs of the employees. According to Davidmann, in authoritarian organizations it is orders which are passed down from above and the managers role is to pass orders down the chain of command. In small firms, owner-cum-managers are the only ones who decide on innovations and changes in the business operations. Innovation in small firms is usually linked up with the entrepreneurial skill of the owner-cum manager. To Meulenberg Verhees (2004), â€Å"in a small firm, innovativeness implies a wiliness of the owner to learn about and to adopt innovations, both in the input and output markets. High innovations of small firm do not mean that the owner is innovative in all domains†. Workers in small businesses can also contribute to the innovative process of the firm but only through the direction of the organization’s leaders. It is still the owner-cum-manager’s decision that is implemented in the end. As Slatter (1992:159), puts it, â€Å"strong leadership provides a key role in overcoming the confusion that usually accompanies growth and is necessary to build and maintain the cohesiveness of the organization†. Participative Management Style Participative management style is also practiced by managers of small businesses. The main goal of participative management is to enhance the quality of the employees’ working life and the management must be responsive to the requests of the employees (Lewis Renn, 1992). This style allows information sharing and involvement of employees in the decision making. Participative management is a process whereby the employees are involved in the decision-making of the organization through formal and informal means (Chan). As a small firm with small organizational structure, there is the need to focus on people issues, and trust-based relations; such a perspective neglects the probability of conflict, even in ostensibly high trust work settings (Collins Ram, 2003). In small firms, employees are encouraged to be involved in decision making. Managers share information directly to the employees and ask inputs before making decisions about policies and processes. This type of management styles promotes and boosts the morale of employees and prevents low productivity. According to Davidmann, smaller company is more effective when compared with larger company both in terms of both employee utilisation (turnover per employee) and capital utilisation (turnover per unit of issued share capital). The adherence to informal structure and system in small firm operation is another noticeable fact that has affected how managerial pattern is determined. According to Blackburn (2003:12), â€Å"the relatively low use of the formal systems by small firms may also mean that a reliance on patent counts etc. is an inaccurate measurement of innovative or research activity. Hence, there is a need to ‘unpack’ the approaches to innovative and intellectual property management by owner-mangers†. In the same parlance, Moore (1996), cited in Blackburn (2003), opined that SMEs rely on more informal methods to protect their intellectual property, such as maintaining a lead time advantage over competitors in bringing new products to market. Also, this can come through the development of high-trust. Adaptive Management Style Ken Blanchard and Paul Hershey, renowned management gurus, created a management style that analyzes the needs of the situation a manager or a leader is dealing with, and then adopts the most appropriate style. This is ideal for small businesses since management styles are considered to be difficult due to the flexible nature of small businesses. In this view, Slatter (1992:159) puts it that â€Å"managing fast growth in entrepreneurial firms is one of the most difficult challenges that exist†. â€Å"Owners often struggle to balance the flexibility required to keep pace with customer demands, with a sense of continuity and security. Hence, management essentially comprises a careful balancing act between strong leadership and decentralized task-oriented management; entrepreneurial and professional management; and processes involving organizational cohesion and those promoting individual responsibilities† (Collins Ram, 2003). The availability of strong leadership in small firms provides a key role in overcoming the confusion that usually accompanies growth and is necessary to build and maintain the cohesiveness of the organization. Thus, â€Å"achieving the balancing act between stability and flexibility is difficult, but potentially attainable through such means and a strong but democratic leadership style† (Slatter 1992:126). Small firms have been observed to be adapting operational plan rather than strategic plan. While strategic plan is conceived as â€Å"a written long – range plan, which includes both a corporate mission statement and a statement of organizational objectives†¦operational planning , on the other hand, is defined as the setting of short term objectives for specific functional areas such as finance, marketing, and personnel† (Shrader et al, 1989). The limited resources available to small firms have resulted in their continual practice of operational plans. â€Å"Strategic planning has not commonly been practiced by smaller firms because they do not have the staff or the time to engage in strategic planning. Rather, the top manager in a small firm must be concerned more with operational, day-to-day, functional area problems† (ibid). Robinson, Logan, and Shalem, cited in Shrader et al, (1989), found that strategic planning was not related to improved financial performance of small firms, but that operational planning was positively related to performance. It is argued that small businesses do not benefit from strategic plans primarily because they do not take time or effort to formulate them. Robinson concluded that small businesses which hired outside help in strategic planning performed better than those that did not plan (ibid). Operational planning allows more flexibility on the part of the owner-cum-managers of small firms. This type of planning allows them to be more adaptive in their management style depending on the need of the situation. Most research works and write ups have been about the management of human resources in large organizations. However in recent times, the focus has shifted to HRM in small firms. Major concerns and predictions for the failures of small businesses relate to financial issues. But in the argument of Marlow Patton (1993), the effective management of employees is also emerging as a key variable in the survival of small firms. The limited size of many small firms justifies the absence of full-time HR professionals in their organizations. The complex and time consuming nature of many HR activities can result in a significant drain on existing managerial resources. Small firms also face the problems and challenges of lacking high skilled HR. â€Å"Attractive and retention is clearly linked to the ability to offer a competitive benefits package† (Williams Dreher 1992, cited in Klaas et al, 2000). There is a need for a well-skilled and well-motivated workforce for small firms in order for them to compete effectively in the global marketplace. â€Å"There is growing empirical evidence linking HRM activities and organizational performance† (Holt 1993, cited in Wager 1998). As Odaka Sawai (1999), puts it, â€Å"small business has sometimes been criticized for its economic ‘vices’: retrace competition, the exploitation of employees through low wages, poor working conditions, paternalistic labor relations, and so on. In so far as small firms are characterized by the relatively labor-intensive choice of technology, they contributed to society by enhancing the employment capabilities of the latter†. Lack of technological processes of small firms also constitutes as basis of inefficient HR relationships. Collins Ram (2003) identified four types of employment relations in small firms: â€Å"a ‘factory’ model, which emphasized pecuniary attachment and managerial control: a ‘commitment model based upon peer and ‘cultural’ control: a professional model that stressed attachment to work; and an ‘engineering’ that exhibited a more instrumental approach to work relations’. The concept of informality is invoked to describe social relations at work. But the substance of informality needs to be investigated, together with the shaping power of the context in which the small firm is operating. The ranking of importance of HRM activities differs between small and large scale businesses. According to Ng and Maki (1993), quoted in Wager (19980, â€Å" for smaller firms, the three most important activities were the ‘retaining function’ (which included administering personnel records, payroll processing, health and safety compliance, public relations, and vacation processing), ‘obtaining function’ (which involve pre-employment testing, recruiting, and hiring), and the ‘identifying function’ (which included human resource planning and job evaluation). On the other hand for larger firms, the most important activity was the ‘adjustment function’ (which addresses promotion, transfer, and separation, union-management relations, employee assistance plan administration, and disciplinary issues, followed by the ‘identifying function’, and the developing function’ (which included skill training, orientation, and career development). CONCLUSION So going back to the question Is small beautiful? , my discussion in this paper would say yes. Small is beautiful indeed. Although many literature and management experts would disagree with this conclusion, this paper concludes that small is beautiful. Nooteboom (1994) and Rothwell and Dodgson (1994) as cited by Voosen, find that the relative strengths of large firms are predominantly material. According to Voosen, it is not always easy to separate the effects of market power and firm size, as these two are obviously correlated. But despite the obvious advantage of large organizations over small firms, this paper concludes that small is beautiful. There is beauty in managing small businesses. The beauty of small firms lies in its inherent characteristic of being small. Small allows flexibility, creativity, innovativeness, responsiveness, and efficiency in decision making. Nooteboom (1994) and Rothwell and Dodgson (1994), as cited by Voosen, concluded that in general, the relative strengths of small firms lie in its behavioral characteristics. This definitely reinforces the saying that bigger isn’t really better! REFERENCES Anglund, Sandra M. (2000), Small Business Policy and the American Creed. Westport CT: Praeger. Bannock, Graham (2005), The Economics and management of Small Business: An International perspective. New York: Routledge. Blackburn, Robert A. (2003), Intellectual Property and Innovation management in Small Firms. London: Routledge Blackburn, R. Hart, M. (2001), â€Å"Perception or reality? The effects of Employment Rights on Small Firms† Paper at the 3rd SBS- Kingston university seminar series, Sheffield 6 November. http://business. kingston. ac. uk/research/kbssbs/percrel. pdf (06/03/06) Bolton, J. (1971) Small Firms Report of the Committee of Inquiry on Small Firms. London. Chan, Alvin. Organizational Survival: Adapt to Succeed! http://www. zeromillion. com/business/adapt. html Collins, L. 7 ram M. (2003), â€Å"Managing the Entrepreneurial Firm† Stream 9: Critical Realist Perspectives on Entrepreneurial Organizations and Discourses. June http://www. mngt. waikato. ac. nz/ejrot/cmsconference/2003/proceedings/criticalrealist/collins. pdf (06/03/06) Fletcher, Denise E. (2002), Understanding the Small Family Business. London: Routledge. Klaas, Brian S. et al (2000), â€Å"Managing HR in the small and Medium Enterprise: The Impact of Professional Employer Organizations† in Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice Vol. 25, No. 1. Lewis, Jerre and Renn, Leslie (1992), â€Å"How to Start a Participative Management Program: 10 Easy Steps†. Lewis Renn Associates, 1992. Marlow, S. and Patton D. (1993), â€Å"Research Note-Managing the Employment Relationship in the Smaller Firm: Possibilities for Human Resource Management†, International Small Business Journal, 11 (4) 57-64. Meulenberg M. T. G. Verhees F. J. H. M. (2004), â€Å"Market Orientation, Innovativeness product Innovation, and Performance in Small Firms† in Journal of Small Business Management. Vol. 42, No. 2. Odaka, K. Sawai, M. (1999), Small Firms, Large Concerns: The Development of Small Business in Comparative Perspectives. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Shrader, C. B. et al (1989), â€Å"Strategic and Operational Planning, Uncertainty and Performance in Small Firms† in Journal of Small Business Management. Vol. 27, No 4 Slatter, S. (1992), Gambling on Growth: How to Manage the Small High-tech Firm, John Wiley Sons. Vosen, Robert. â€Å"Combining Large and Small Firm Advantages in Innovation: Theory and Examples. www. ub. rug. nl/eldoc/som/b/98B21/98b21. pdf Wager, Terry H. (1998), â€Å"Determinants of Human Resource Management Practices in Small Firms: Some Evidence from Atlantic Canada† in Journal of Small Business Management. Vol. 36, No. 2.

The global strategy of french retailer Carrefour

The global strategy of french retailer Carrefour The last four decades has seen the French group Carrefour S.A. become Europes largest and the worlds second-largest retailer. The group presently operates the four major store format categories: hypermarkets, supermarkets, hard discount and also convenience stores. The Carrefour group presently operates more than 15,500 stores which are either company-operated or franchises. The group employs more than 475,000 people and generated sales (including VAT) of à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬96.2billion approx. during 2009 (Carrefour Group, 2010, p 1-2). Carrefour was incorporated in Paris by the Fournier and Deoffrey founder families during 1959. It launched its first supermarket during 1960 near a crossroads (Carrefour in French) followed by the first Carrefour hypermarket during 1963. Thereafter, the internationalisation of Carrefour began with the Belgian foray during 1969 (Ki, 2008, p 14-19). Analysis Background Carrefours success was primarily because of its involvement in creating hypermarkets across Western Europe. Carrefour pooled the American approach to supermarkets with the discount stores format by retailing non-food products along with self-service (Jung, 2006, p 1-3). Its hypermarkets success led Carrefour to establish the groups first store in UK and Italy. Its further expansion helped to establish markets in numerous other countries for instance Greece, Turkey, Mexico, China, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Indonesia during the 1970s and the 1980s (Ki, 2008, p 14-19). A ground-breaking entrant in countries exemplified by its Brazilian investment in 1975 and the Chinese entry in 1995, Carrefour presently operates in three major European, Latin American and Asian markets. Present in 34 countries internationally, more than 57 percent of the group turnover is generated from the European markets excluding France. The group perceives strong potential for added international growth in future, principally in large national markets for example China, Indonesia, Brazil, Poland and Turkey (Carrefour Group, 2010, p 1-2). Global Strategy Within France, the group faces an extremely competitive pricing environment. Its hypermarket sales have been declining for a while because of the increasingly popular discount stores. Carrefours hypermarket comparable turnover (including petrol) for the third quarter dropped 8%, with non-food comparable turnover falling 9.5% (Stych, 2010, p 1-2). Perhaps the one way its investors will be truly satisfied is if its French hypermarket division performs better, since it contributes approximately a quarter of Carrefours global sales (Stych, 2010, p 1-2). Unlike some other global retail players like Metro (globally the 3rd. largest) which have financially independent global operations, Carrefours overseas expansion is driven by funding from the French operations. Compared to the Metro Group, Carrefours globalisation policy appears indecisive at the moment. Only time will reveal if the pressure to dispose off its Asian and Latin American businesses proves too hard to resist (Stych, 2010, p 1-2). Carrefour is keenly committed to sponsoring local economic development wherever it is operating globally. Typically, in any country that it operates in, the Carrefour group is the largest private employer. Unsurprisingly, this is true for France, where the group originates from. The same also applies to countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Greece and Italy. The group also strives to sustain local suppliers, with approximately 90 to 95% of its products sourced locally and based on the country of operations (Carrefour Group, 2010, p 1-2). Global markets priority France remains Carrefours recognised home market and also the groups key priority. The Group is taking initiative to reclaim its leadership within France. The aim is to produce growth, firstly through developing further its multi-format model, raising convergence and providing fresh momentum to its hard discount formats, followed by augmenting sales growth, price image and price competitiveness. The groups second priority includes Spain, Belgium and Italy Belgium which, including France, comprises Carrefours G4 countries. In these established European countries, suitable measures will be adopted to sustain growth (in Spain) or improve its performance in Italy and Belgium. Growth markets signify the groups third priority. It will focus its development resources for the most part on countries having stronger growth potential. The Groups progress in these regions will depend on various formats targeted at generating the customer base such as hypermarkets, cash and carry etc. (Carrefour Group, 2010, p 1-2) Successful globalisation Twelve years after incorporation, Carrefour began its internationalisation journey with its Belgian expansion. Its strategy depended on building the groups market share in each market by developing the kind of retailing most suitable to the local market and also by maximising the way the groups formats harmonised one another (ICEP, 2008, p 189-197 ). The companys self-branded products were commenced during the mid-1980s, thus highlighting Carrefours pursuit of in-store market shares. A succession of acquisitions and takeovers during the 1990s culminated in Carrefours 1999 affable takeover of Promodes, its main French competitor, thus crafting Europes largest food retailer (ICEP, 2008, p 189-197). It is seen that Carrefour is able to productively employ its capabilities and resources in creating a persistent competitive advantage with the right use of PESTEL and Ansoff Matrix methodologies to carry on catering to the unpredictable shoppers distinct and localised goods preferences and needs. The macro environment, largely represented as the PESTEL diagnostic framework, typifies the political, economic and societal factors along with the technological, environmental as also the legal factors. It assists in systematically examining and finding the impact of all these criteria on the organisations (Gray, 1999, p12) (Alfino, et al, 1998, p 17-23). The singular differentiator for Carrefours success in China has been its more ingrained adjustment to the local environment and in the appreciation of the local consumer behaviour and culture in terms of the societal and environmental factors in PESTELs framework (Gopalkrishnan, 2009, p 1-9). Further, Carrefour is more successful also because it considers China as a group of local or regional markets whereas Wal-mart considers it as a single large market; Carrefour also has decentralised sourcing and distribution unlike Wal-mart (Mahajan-Bansal, 2010, p 1). The Chinese favour fresh poultry and meat, hence local sourcing results in faster and smarter logistics rather than central sourcing of merchandise (Mahajan-Bansal, 2010, p 1). Another cause of the success of Carrefour is the decentralised organisational configuration, which permits it to continue the focus on local requirements and preferences. The corporate office in Paris is responsible for long-term strategy and policy. It also deals with financial and technical issues and offers advice when requested. It also offers intellectual capital and is responsible for new store locations and capital investments (Lal, et al, 2004, p 289-293). The Ansoff Matrix is a strategic marketing planning tool that connects a firms marketing strategy to its broad strategic direction. It presents four optional growth strategies as a matrix. These strategies look for growth through: (1) Market penetration by driving current products throughout their current market segments (2) Market development through developing new markets for current products (3) Product development through developing fresh products for its current markets and (4) Diversification through developing fresh products for fresh markets. The Ansoff Matrix was named after Igor Ansoff, its inventor and the father of strategic management and initially circulated in The Harvard business review in 1957 (Businessdictionary.com, 2010, p 1.2). Table 1: The Ansoff Matrix (Ansoff, 2010, p 1-2) The Table 1 above illustrates the four optional growth strategies (Ansoff, 2010, p 1-2). It is evident that Carrefour has successfully continued to implement the market and product diversification strategy by localizing its product and service offerings in most of the countries internationally within which it operates. It is also observed that it is able to continuously diversify into new markets based on the expertise gleaned from earlier international forays and localizing their offerings to suit the local requirements and preferences. Modes of entry The Carrefour group appears, through its choice of entry methods, to realise either the necessity or legal compulsion for a partner in nearly all international markets. Managerial control is typically sought after, and this is especially evident for Carrefour as well as for Delhaize, the Belgian retailer (Burt, et al, 2007, p 5-18). Carrefours conventional model of investment involves joint venturing and collaborating followed by either consolidation or divestment depending on whether the performance and market share grows or stagnates, states Burt (1994, p 391-410). Its merger with Promodes initiated broader variations of management control mechanisms leading to franchising and affiliation becoming more widespread than in the past. These mechanisms were actively followed in certain markets (Burt, et al, 2007, p 5-18). It is, however, noteworthy that its core hypermarket operations remain mainly a Carrefour led activity. Carrefour currently controls directly only 58 percent of the approximately 12,000 stores operating under the groups various fronts. Whilst 9 percent of its hypermarket network only is franchised, almost 93% of its convenience stores acquired from Promodes are franchised. Promodà ¨ss origins as a wholesaler are mirrored in the strength of this small store network as well as the management control mechanisms deployed (Burt, et al, 2007, p 5-18). During the subsequent few years post its Belgian expansion, it forayed into Spain and also brought the hypermarket format to Latin America during 1975. In Latin America, it adopted the self-funding model and restricted starting capital for one store and a half only. It only launched its second store once it was able to produce sufficient funds from the first stores operations. This discipline compelled Carrefour to continue experimenting at the first store until its success within the local market (Lal, et al, 2004, p 289-293). The entry and exit activities of three of the major European retail players, Carrefour, Delhaize and Ahold (Dutch), bears observation. Considering that there is a proliferation of individual markets, a possibly astonishing conclusion of the geographical mapping of businesses of these three groups is that, in none of these markets, do they compete directly (Burt, et al, 2007, p 5-18). One result of the recent reconsideration of the retailers market portfolios is the asset swops that are in effect now. Globalising retailers, including the ones that are comparatively new to globalisation have the prospect to obtain chains, stores or sites in other countries from other global retailers instead of local market operators (Burt, et al, 2007, p 5-18). Carrefours experience is that it pays to be the earliest to penetrate the foreign market and also that the entry mode should be via Greenfield operations (Lal, et al, 2004, p 289-293). But, in several foreign markets, there may not be a choice in this regard because of local market regulations and the entrant may be forced to follow a joint venture formula (Lal, et al, 2004, p 289-293). Some Countries exited Carrefour operates 42 stores in Thailand, counting 34 hypermarkets. It is the fifth largest organised food distribution retailer in Thailand with a 6% market share, à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬723m of net sales and EBITDA of à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬67m for the 12 months to 30 June 2010 (Carrefour, 2010, p 1-2). Big C, Groupe Casinos subsidiary, is Thailands second largest hypermarket operator, with 69 hypermarkets generating à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 1.7bn net sales over the same period (Carrefour, 2010, p 1-2). Carrefour has recently confirmed an agreement with Big C for the divestment, after 14 years, of its operations in Thailand with the deal valued à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬868million. This valuation amounts to 120% of the net sales of the business being sold with 13.0 x EBITDA multiple. The deal is anticipated to close during the first quarter of 2011 (Carrefour, 2010, p 1-2). Carrefours strategic sale of its operations in Thailand is to enable the group to direct its resources towards the markets where it can occupy or occupies a leadership position and can get the maximum return on its capital employed. The growth prospects for its Thai operations did not permit the Group to envision a leading position either within the medium or short term (Carrefour, 2010, p 1-2). On the back of its successful retail history, Carrefour on its own ventured into South Korea, a completely unknown territory, without a local partner. Due to this reason, it was unable to understand the market. Carrefour deployed most of its top management personnel for South Koreas from France which was not appreciated by the local employees (Khan, 2010, p 7-11). The company did not localise its stores and the products were not stocked as per the requirements and inclinations of Korean consumers. Though bulk purchases were proffered at economical prices, suitable research was not conducted. They did not realise that there were only a few customers that preferred bulk purchases. As such, during April 2006, Carrefour sold its South Korean operations for approximately $1.3billion (Khan, 2010, p 7-11). Carrefours departure from Russia is rather astonishing given that its first store in the country was launched just two quarters earlier. The reason given has been the influence from the key shareholders Bernard Arnault and Colony Capital. These are the same investors pressurising Carrefour to exit its business from the Asian and Latin American markets. These businesses are forecasted to be valued anywhere from $17billion to $20billion. Their sale could shore up Carrefours underperforming share price (Stych, 2010, p 1-2). Conclusions Carrefour has successfully evolved over five decades from being the largest retail player in France to becoming the largest in Europe and the second largest globally in terms of net sales. This has resulted largely from its successful European play and the further globalisation through Latin America and Asia. Its success stems from its relentless quest for localizing its product and service offerings to fulfil the needs and preferences of its local customers in each of the countries that it ventures into. The mode of entry has largely been through the greenfield and joint venture strategies subject to the local legal requirements. The management control has been largely with the parent Carrefour. Yet, there are lessons to be learnt from unsuccessful ventures in certain countries, though the overall strategy of targeting leadership positions wherever it operates has brought success. Due to shareholder pressures to exit Latin America and Asia, it will ultimately either need to aggressively maximise its operations in those countries or redirect their resources as needed in the larger interest of all the stakeholders.

Changes to the Role of a Quantity Surveyor

Changes to the Role of a Quantity Surveyor When trying to gather information on the origins of the quantity surveying profession it is not simple, several different authors have different theories on where the occupation arose from. Some feel that it is a 19th century creation, were others seem to think that the birth of quantity surveying stretches all the way back to ancient Egypt. However to attempt to obtain knowledge about quantity surveyings past I must assess all the theories to distinguish which seems the most viable. The Kenyan branch of the RICS opens the website speaking of quantity surveying being used in ancient Egypt, and also references a quote from the bible which was mentioned in Chapter 1; Suppose one of you wants to build a tower, will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it. (Luke, 14:28). Seeing this as the start of the quantity surveying profession I feel is inaccurate but it can be seen as a basis from which it could have rose from. The act of planning ou t all you need has always been used in construction as well as other lines of work, for example a baker would not start baking until he has all the ingredients he needs. Nevertheless it may have been in such a case as the pyramids that some one person may have been assigned to ensure all materials where present and that every that was needed to construct them was there. If this were the case then it may very well have been the first use of quantity surveyors (QSs). The authors who have written about the subject of quantity surveying give little mention of this as their professions origin and choose to focus on more recent history to find their career roots rather than to early empires grand construction projects. Allan Ashworth and Keith Hogg are two well respected authors on the subject of quantity surveying and value in construction, so much so that they have taken over the mantle of writing the new versions of Williss Practice and Procedure for the Quantity Surveyor, a book seen as one of the best in quantity surveying circles. In the 2000 book Added Value in Design and Construction Ashworth and Hogg speak of the possible beginnings of quantity surveying: According to Thompson (1968), the roots of quantity surveying go back to the seventeenth century and to the Great Fire of London. There is evidence to suggest that firms of QSs were in existence at the end of the eighteenth century. According to Seeley (1988), the earliest records of a quantity surveying firm were in Reading, Berkshire, in 1785. There is little doubt that other firms were also in existence at the same time. In 1802, a number of Scottish quantity surveying firms gathered to produce the first method of measurement of buildings. In St Lukes Gospel (14:28) a story is recorded of the importance of counting the cost before you build implying that some form of these practices existed even in biblical times! (P 12-13) These authors seem to have no direct opinion on the matter but they do offer up the opinion of others as well as the aforementioned biblical quote. Thompsons belief was that that after the Great Fire of London in 1666, there was such a vast amount of work needed done and that the usual way of paying tradesmen by daily rates was unfeasible due to the amount of labour used. So it was deemed that a measure and value system would be best to allocate payment. This job was entrusted to architects but since they were so busy designing all the new buildings they employed other men to do the job; these men became known as measurers. Seeley and Winfield (1999) state that this method of measure and value surveying was common practice up to the middle 19th century but vaguely describe the aftermath that resulted in the creation of bills of quantities and competitive tendering. The origins of quantity surveying and indeed all surveying are detailed heavily in F.M.L Thompsons 1968 book, Chartered Surveyors, the growth of a profession. The opinion shared by Thompson (1968) and Seeley and Winfield (1999) is a popular one among authors however this opinion is not shared by Colin Dent in his book Quantity Surveying a Fully Metricated Text. In his eyes the birth of quantity surveying came in coincidence with that of the bill of quantities. Dent puts it that the bill of quantities arose from costly nature that was involved in pricing jobs in the 19th century. General contractors in this era where becoming aggravated with spending money measuring, pricing and preparing a tender for a job only not to get and have to incur the costs of an unsuccessful bid. It then left the contractor having to price in the cost of unsuccessful bids into his successful ones; this did not sit well with clients who were disgruntled that they had to pay for a contractors previous losing bid. It was heavily thought at this time that the lowest bid was the best, but it was often the case that the lowest bid came from an omission in the contracto rs own bill of quantities. This would leave the contractor the task of attempting to make the money up from somewhere else in the project. Again clients were displeased with this so it was decided around 1850 that a universal bill of quantities would be made from the client and sent to the contractors to price. Ferry, Brandon Ferry, 2006, see it differently; they believe that it was contractors who first used surveyors to draw up bills of quantities for them to price. A group of contractors would perhaps employ one surveyor with the winning bid then paying his fee. Architects suspected foul play in these bids with excessive wastage allowed and the possibility that contractors would fix so that one bid would win before all would get a pay out from the contract sum. The architect then took over employing surveyors to draw up one bill of quantities for all to price. Either way the bill of quantities system was seen as fair competition between contractors and gained recognition by 1880, and after it was used in the building of the Houses of Parliament and was successful it was then accepted as the most efficient and economical way of building. It is probably most likely from this point of the evolution of the bill of quantities that surveyors shook off the term off measurers and gained the term QSs as their job title. Another contrasting view is that of Duncan Cartlidge the author of New Aspects of Quantity Surveying Practice 2nd edition. The basis of his opinion also comes from the 19th century and the formation of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) in 1834. This move was made by architects to further them surveyors/contractors and their obnoxious commercial interest in construction. In his view the greater responsibility for the business side construction now given to surveyors/contractors created the need to have someone in charge of the managing of capital and quantities, thus the QS was born (Cartlidge, 2006). There are several views regarding the origin of the quantity surveying profession as I mentioned above. However when all views are looked at; an almost direct line events can be seen to occur where every stage seems to be a step in the evolution of quantity surveying. In this readers opinion the act of assessing material amounts for building and also the cost goes back to early civilisation. But it was not until after the Great Fire in 1666 that a full time job was created for someone to measure and value work done. Client and contractor dissatisfaction with payment of the final account and a fair method of tendering led to the birth of bills of quantities and it is the basis of measuring and value and the drawing up of bills of quantities that produced the traditional QS, which still exists today. This form of quantity surveying worked well in the late 19th century and early years of the 20th century, so much so that in 1909 the RIBA incorporated the bills of quantities into its standard building contract, thus making it a legally binding document (Dent, 1970)(Ashworth Hogg, 2000). In 1922 the first edition of the British Standard Method of Measurement of Building Works (or SMM) was adopted into the contract as a means for which works were measured. Its introduction was to alleviate confusion about which quantities were measurable (Ashworth, 1981). The practice of quantity surveying remained very much unchanged for many years; in fact it was not until after that Second World War that the traditional techniques came into question. The government began its task of rebuilding the country after the war and gave heavy public spending during the 1950s and 1960s for rebuilding of houses, schools, hospitals, roads, etc. (Ashworth, 2004). This in turn saw work for QSs rise as the government had spend huge sums of money on the war and had incurred large international debt, so keeping buildings cost low was a top priority (Thompson, 1968). In order to plan this spending properly and achieve value for money in the various projects, something additional needed to be done other than simply to measure and value the works as was the traditional method. The then Ministry of Public Buildings and Works and the RICS began to develop systems of financial control and evaluation for new buildings. This laid the foundation for further exploration into cost control techniques (Ashworth, 2004). In 1957 the Ministry of Education issued a bulletin that was a milestone in the practice as it introduced new methods of working and new principles of cost analysis and cost planning (Building Bulletin No.4 Cost Study). The bulletin initiated the idea of cost planning which set about to compare the cost of different design solutions and also designing within an overall cost framework. This meant that QSs would for the first time have to manage costs all the way through a construction project, whereas a previously they simply a drew up quantities from architect drawings at the start and helped settle accounts at the end. QSs would now have to compare different designs and different elements of buildings in an attempt to obtain cost efficiency, and then manage the expenditure throughout to ensure that the project was not over budget. This was the first use of elemental cost planning or designing to a cost and formally introduced the QS into the design team (Ashworth Hogg, 2000). The 1970s saw a huge increase in the amount of universities offering quantity surveying as an undergraduate course, in 1970 alone 30 polytechnics formed (Willis, 1987). Not only were there more quantity surveying students but there were more quantity surveying lectures, this meant that more research was being done on the profession, finding more and more ways to better itself (Ashworth Hogg, 2000). It was in this research that the holes began to be exposed in the traditional procurement method. Studies showed that clients wee not always obtaining value for money in the procurement of their buildings (Ashworth, 2004). In 1970 -1974 the UK seen a property boom so developers were anxious to get building, this forced fast track methods of procurement to develop as the traditional method was seen as too slow. Management contracting and forms of design and build were introduced. These methods did not require a bill of quantities so QS involvement was left to cost plan and try and keep the budget. These were unchartered water for QSs and there was a lack of cost certainty but it was tolerated as property values were rising so quickly (Cartlidge, 2009). The 70s also seen the introduction of computers something which many believed over time would end QSs. Sir John Egan, author of the wide reaching report Rethinking Construction, once told a group of graduates in 1999 that the construction industry will no longer be needing them to count the cost of a project computer technology would be doing it instead (Carvill, 1999). Adrian .J Smith, author of Computers and the QS, puts it that: The QS and the computer have been partners in an intense love hate relationship for over 30 years; indeed, it would be difficult to find any other profession in which the relationship between man and machine has generated, by turns, so much discussion; hope and optimism; disappointment and disillusion, (Smith, 1989) Of course they were not very well advanced in this era however they did give insight into how projects may be calculated and determined and began to challenge the perceived wisdom of the traditional methods (Ashworth, 2004) During the 1980s the quantity surveying profession started to witness radical changes to their traditional ways of working, and much of the change stemming from new procurement methods which seemed to spell the end for the bills of quantities. Procurement, a term not used until the 1980s, became an important area of activity, largely because of the increasing array of options available (Ashworth Hogg, 2006). These options came about as clients became dissatisfied with amount of time taken to procure through traditional tendering methods (i.e. bills of quantities). So new forms of procurement arose to try and meet client requirements, the main forms that were on the increase were Design and Build (D B), Management Procurement. Clients seen these methods as more beneficial for time and also because it handed more risk to the contractor in D B and to a management contractor in management procurement (Cartlidge, 2009). (The benefits of these types of procurements are discussed for lat er in this chapter). Some quantity surveying companies were very respondent to the change that management procurement brought about and began to adapt their practices, as D B hadnt much use for professional QSs. However it did create an opening on the contractors side for more cost control as they needed to manage their own construction costs. The practice of cost modelling which was introduced in the previous decade had been studied further. While the profession was looking for new ways of estimating away from the bill of quantities, the cost modelling method was, and still is, seen as too radical and requiring too much practice from the security of a reasonably reliable yet imperfect system of the bill of quantities (Ashworth Hogg, 2000). The emphasis of building costs was high on the agenda and it was also during this time that attention shifted from initial construction costs alone to a more comprehensive overall view of the costs over the entire life cycle of the project. Who le life costing takes into consideration the initial procurement, design and construction costs as well as fees and charges. It also takes into account the operational costs such as maintenance, repairs and energy expenses, and the cost of disposal and recycling of the building is also included (Cartlidge 2009). Eventually all of these aspects would be considered within the emerging practice of facilities management. These considerations provided yet another shift towards adding value to the industry and its clients. This recognised that to examine the initial costs of construction within the context of whole costs that it might yield an overall better financial situation for the client (Ashworth Hogg, 2000). Two other new aspects of costing that came about in the 1980s were value management and facilities management. Value management or value engineering arrived in the UK in the 1980s but in some sense it already existed, as mentioned earlier the government wanted cheaper building s after the war, so cost planning in this era focused on acceptable products for the least cost which in essence is what value can be defined as (Kelly, Morledge, Wilkinson, 2002). Facilities management was also introduced as from of project management that went much further than just managing the construction. Aspects of the building such as its infrastructure, its environmental impact, its maintenance and its communication links all came under the role of a facilities manager (Ashworth 2004). Basically it was not just managing the buildings construction but managing the building as a whole. Value management was a natural progression for QSs as they were the experts on buildings product costs so they were able to inform the client on all options and help provide the selection which bore the most value. The RICS recognised this change when it published its report of a study of Value Engineering and Quantity Surveying Practice in 1987. Facilities management was further away from the traditional QSs way of working and closer to a profession which specialised in project management, however with many believing at this time that QSs were heading down that route this line of work was seen as a future possibility for QSs. During the 1990s several key reports were produced that assisted in the new directions of the QS profession, they helped to formulate a future direction and strategy, emphasising the changing nature of society in general and the construction industry and the profession within it (Ashworth Hogg, 2000). The first in 1991 was made by Davis, Langdon Everest, one of the largest QS firms in the world at present, wrote the report QS2000: The Future Role of the Quantity Surveyor which focused on the changes in the construction industry and how it was affecting the profession. The important point stressed in this report was that QSs needed to learn to manage more effectively the time and quality as well as the cost in an attempt to add value into a clients business and construction project. The report also identified widening markets and diversification for the quantity surveyor, suggesting three key areas of future activity: value management, procurement management, and facilities manageme nt. The idea of more research and development into better QS practices was promoted as it was as another way of adding value for the client (Davis, Langdon, Everest, 1991). The RICS The core skills and knowledge base of the quantity surveyor report released in 1992 affirmed a lot of the points raised in the 1991 Davis, Langdon and Everest report. It also raised point that QS may need to change the way they address clients and professionals to try and make clear to clients the services they offer (RICS, 1992). Constructing the team was a report written by Sir Michael Latham in 1994 which had far reaching consequences on the construction industry and those employed in it, including quantity surveyors. The report called for more standardisation of design and construction by establishing more functional and efficient supply chains. More transparency in costing between the professionals and clients was seen to be needed; this was of particular interest to QSs as target of reducing cost by 30% was set by the report. The report also encouraged more teamwork in all construction teams to produce a product that all, including the client, could be justifiably happy with. This point also highlighted QSs as they did at this time have a reputation as difficult to deal with professionals for the client (Cartlidge 2006). Sir John Egan, a keen advocate of Sir Michael Lathams report and known to be a person to be a person convinced of the need of change in the industry was appointed as head of the Construction Task Force (Cartlidge, 2006). It was Egans opinion; that while some of the construction industry learned from the Latham report, not enough was done to meet the targets set out within it. In 1998 Sir John Egan published his own report titled Rethinking Construction. This report was seen as the blueprint for the modernisation of the systems used in the construction industry to procure work. The Egan report revealed in a survey of major UK property clients that many still dissatisfied with the services performances offered by both contractors and consultants. These clients revealed that: More that a third of them thought that consultants were lacking in providing a speedy and reliable service They felt they were not receiving good value for money insofar as construction projects did not met their functional needs and had high whole life costs They felt that the design and construction should be integrated in order to deliver added value There was a failure to keep within agreed budgets and the completion schedules. (Rethinking Construction, Sir John Egan, 1998) These points were damaging to consultants and in particular quantity surveyors who a lot believe were one of the guiltiest of these failings in the industry. Responding to this report, in 1999 Building magazine published the article The QS: a profession on the brink. The magazine conducted its own survey of over 12,000 QSs and the overwhelming feeling was one of anxiety about their future. The survey shows that QSs are concerned about the rapid erosion of their traditional role, their inability to persuade clients that they can significantly contribute to their projects, and the threat posed by acquisitive rivals and by other professionals such as management consultants and accounts 75% of QSs asked believed at this stage that new software packages were replacing their traditional cost modelling role; in fact a senior partner of Davis, Langdon Everest is quoted as saying that traditional quantity surveying, especially the calculation of BoQs, is on the way out. Many senior QSs in large firms such as Cyril Sweet and Bucknall Austin believed the profession was heading into management consultancy that specialise in construction. The latter in fact now referring to themselves as construction economists. This article seemed to spell the end for the QS as it was followed by more articles that sang from the same hymn sheet (Building, 1999). Adapt or Die (2000) called on QSs to find a new niche in the industry as their traditional role of measuring and drawing up BoQS was fading fast. It referred to QSs as an endangered species and that it was a case of survival of the fittest, the fittest being the surveyor who adapts and diversifies to a changing industry. Many practices have already evolved, reinventing themselves as cost consultants or construction cost advisors, or diversifying to become project managers, construction managers or total service providers offering professional management services to the industry not a word about cost in there at all. (Building, 2000) A year later (2001) a further article entitled What is the use of QSs stated through a survey that the general public had little or no idea of what a QS does. The author suggesting that construction law was an appropriate landing spot for diversifying QSs citing that their cost expertise could be a valuable tool in dispute resolution. The article also followed the theme of others implying that the traditional role was dying (Building, 2001). A lot of the articles around this time were in response to the 1999 survey carried out by Building magazine, so in that respect their fear inducing titles seemed to be on the mark. But five years on the same magazine was speaking quite differently. From forecasting that the QS profession may be on the brink, they were now stating that not only were QSs in high demand, but that their services were on the rise all over the world. The 2004 article Rocking All Over the World tells of how some of the UKs largest QS firms were expanding into foreign markets such as the Middle East, China, North America, Europe and other Commonwealth Nations. Richard Steer, senior partner of Gleeds a large QS firm, commented Just as were trying to lose the name quantity surveyor we are getting requests for QS services. It should be highlighted from the article that while there was an increase in QS demand, it was not for the traditional QS services. The industry was interested in professionals with expertis e in sustainable construction, dispute resolution and adjudication, cost control techniques, procurement advice and also the need for an independent voice in the construction process (Building, 2004). It is not surprising that QSs were in high demand in this era. The world was on the forefront of building boom as property around the world went up at a dizzying pace in places like Dubai and Beijing (for the 2008 Olympic games) for example. What should be noted form this was the services they were offering. Williss Practice and Procedure for the Quantity Surveyor 12th ed (2007) depicts how the role of a QS had evolved from the traditional in 1960 into the present (see Fig. 1.1) Single rate approximate estimates Cost planning Procurement advice Measurement and quantification Document preparation, especially bills of quantities Cost control during construction Interim valuations and payments Financial statements Final account preparation and agreement Settlement of contractual claims Fig. 1.1 Traditional quantity surveying activities 1960 Investment appraisal Advice on cost limits and budgets Whole life costing Value management Risk analysis Insolvency services Cost engineering services Subcontract administration Environmental services measurement and costing Technical auditing Planning and supervision Valuation for insurance purposes Project management Facilities management Administering maintenance programs Advice on contractual disputes Planning supervisor Employers agent N.B. some of traditional activities may still be part of a present day QSs role such as procurement advisor or cost planning. (Ashworth Hogg 2007) Williss book also gave insight into what the future may bring for the QS, all of which are spoken about today and are considered to be the most recent QS responsibilities to have developed. Activities such as: Environmental and sustainability analysis Supply chain management Facilities management Legal services Quality management Automated measurement and quantification Taxation and investment advice relating to projects (Ashworth Hogg, 2007) (Cartlidge, 2009) When looking at the list of traditional of activities for quantity surveyors compared to the present day role which the practice, it shows up a profession that has vastly evolved in the amount of services that it has the potential to offer to the construction industry. Yet still today QSs are challenging themselves to take on more as to stop other professions poaching their business. Stuart Earl of the RICS in this article in the Construction Journal speaks of the need to adapt to stop outside intrusion. His article New tools for the trade covers the topic of the rules of measurement issued by the RICS. The new rules of measurement: order of cost estimating and elemental cost planning is set of comprehensive rules for calculating the cost of the whole project, not just the building works which the Standard Method of Measurement (SMM) currently does. This initiative is a bid by the RICS to incorporate whole life costing into the framework of the QS role and to promote value for money thinking. Stuart Earl describes the rule as: our professions statement of the minimum technical standard required to carry out measurement at all stages in the life of a building. If we do not rise to the challenge, others may do it for us, or worse, we may find ourselves losing out to accountants. (RICS Construction Journal, Aug, 2009) Michael Sullivan, the chairman of the QS Construction Professional Group of the RICS, details a similar problem for QSs. His article from the Construction Journal, The vital link, he tells of QSs need to embrace sustainability in the industry so that it becomes a part of the quantity surveying framework for the future professionals to adopt rather than another profession. the next generation of QSs will want to know what you are doing about sustainability, expecting you to understand it more than others, like management consultants (RICS Construction Journal, Dec, 2009) Ever since quantity surveyings traditional practices were questioned in the wake of the Second World War, QSs have been faced with the challenge of diversifying and justifying their profession. Although on the small to medium scale the traditional practices are still alive (with some modern innovation, e.g. Information technology advancement), the large scale projects and firms are very much different (Cartlidge, 2009). And it is no surprise that the companies that have done the best are those that have adopted the Egan ethos of value for money and became more client focussed thus changed and added to the QS services they offer. It seems possibly that to succeed the QS industry hinges on the amount of services you can provide to fulfil a wide variety of client needs.

The United States and the Era of Imperialism Essay -- American History

The United States and the Era of Imperialism Never interfere with Europe was the cry of the founding fathers. Our very first president, George Washington warned us not to get involved with foreign powers. The spirit at the time of our nation’s birth was isolationism. The infant United States of America could not afford to get it’s hand caught in the cookie jar of world affairs. As children grow they get stronger, and the growth of the United States was no different. By the end of the Civil War the United States had muscles to flex. At the time the world was enthralled in the Age of Imperialism, in which a nation’s power was derived from it’s overseas holdings. The United States, who had just proved that it could beat itself up, was not going to be excluded from imperialistic contest the world arena provided. So, the United States was ushered into the Era of Imperialism. There are several reasons why the United States sought to found an empire. For theses reasons, American began it’s divine quest. Foremost were the economic prospects of empire. There were several commercial and business interests involved with the American imperialist movement. Overproduction in America caused economic depressions. In order to curve these slumps, America needed new markets. Also, as American business increased there was an ever-growing demand for raw materials. America glanced heavily at the potential of the Far East, especially China, and it’s southern neighbor Latin America as a new market, and a source of raw materials. These are the economic factors that contributed to the rise of American imperialism. For military and strategic reasons America needed to forge and empire. In 1890 Thomas Mahan published Influence of Sea Power upon History 1660 - 1783. In his book Mahan pointed out that Great Britain’s phenomenal growth as the world power was because of it’s unsurpassed naval power. America saw that in order to become a world power, it needed to expand it’s own navy. In order to maintain this new navy, America would also need to increase the number of harbors, refueling and repair stations, and trade ships around the globe. America also came to realize that the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans needed to be connected closer to home. This raised the demand for an isthmian canal. These are the military and strategic exponents that sparked America to... ...rican interests abroad. Taft would use â€Å"dollar diplomacy†, and the Roosevelt Corollary in Nicaragua and other Latin American countries to further protect American business investments. The U.S. got a late start in the race for trading rights with China, and with the U.S. now in the Philippines, the race became economically crucial for America. By this time, Great Britain, France, Russia, Germany, and Japan claimed exclusive trading rights with China within their sphere of influence. Some, like Japan, even claimed parts of China as their own. In order to level out the playing field Secretary of State John Hay sent diplomatic dispatches to these nations, urging an Open Door Policy, in which there would be equal trading rights with China. All the dispatches came back to Hay with their corresponding nations endorsing the proposal. However, before the policy was enacted, the Chinese tried to expel the â€Å"foreign devils† from their homeland in what was to be called the Boxer Rebellion. This nationalist rebellion was put down by an international police force including 2,500 U.S. troops. These actions of intervention in Latin America and China were part of American imperialism.

Comparing the Dance of Life in My Papa’s Waltz and Saturday Night Fev

Parallels of The Dance of Life   in My Papa’s Waltz   and Saturday Night Fever   Throughout the ages, dance has played an important role in society. It symbolizes tradition, family, bonding, and entertainment. In almost every decade of the twentieth century, a different style of dance prevailed. In the 1970s, John Travolta brought disco dancing into the spotlight with his portrayal of Tony Manero in Saturday Night Fever. Through his depiction of this character, John Travolta shows the monumental effects of dancing. Literature can also artfully explore the effect of dance on people. Theodore Roethke's "My Papa's Waltz" dramatizes a special and positive moment in a boy's life. The author's word choice reflects the significance of this moment of bonding between a father and his son. Some critics have seen this boy's memories as a recollection of a time of abuse. This poem does not reflect an instance of abuse, but rather a dance of life.    In Saturday Night Fever, Tony and his friends often drink before and after they dance. It is a part of their routine, but it does not aff...

Revenue Assessment Essay

Thank you for the opportunity to assess your sales data in order to provide recommendations for increasing your sales. The analysis and recommendations below are based on the data you provided, which covers a period from May 2004 through June 2006. The analysis below is based on this data alone. Therefore, our recommendations should be tempered by your knowledge of business realities and your market. Please let us know if we can answer any questions concerning the analysis or the recommendations provided. ANALYSIS 1: Total Sales by Country Analysis As an American based country one expects the highest income to be within a company’s home country. Well, in the case of Northwind Traders, that is the case. The USA has the highest gross net sales, to be followed closely by Germany and then Austria and Brazil. Sales are above 100,000 over the past two years. If you notice, all of the top selling companies are offered a discount whereas the lower selling countries are offered now discount at all. Graphic Recommendation Based on my analysis I think it would be wise to entice lower income countries to buy more products by offering a discount if they reach a certain amount of product ordered. I also recommend sending surveys to the largest purchasing companies to see what products they would like to see discounts offered on if larger volumes are purchased. Also taking special care to cater to the products higher volume countries are requiring. ANALYSIS 2 : Net Income by Sales Rep Analysis I was given two full years of sales data, and took a look at the net revenue of each of your sales representatives. At first glance it looks like 2005 might have been a more profitable year, but bear in mind that 2005 is the only year we all four quarters accounted for. Keeping that information in mind, it looks like 2006 is getting off to an amazing start, as several of your sales reps have already passed their totals from 2005 in the first quarters. Also take careful attention to notice the difference in the two quarters from 2004 and 2006. It looks like a majority of your sales representatives are making solid revenue for the company. Graphic Recommendation My recommendation would be for starters, enroll every sales rep in a sales training class. Upon completion of I would set a goal that each sales rep must contribute at least 10% of the net income for the company. Since there are 9 sales reps this leaves some room for extra. This will not only force the sales reps to work together, and encourage friendly competition. I also recommend you elect a sales representative team leader (for example Miss Peacock who is consistently your top sales person) and empower her to encourage, coach and teacher the other sales reps in her methods and tricks. ANALYSIS 3: Total Revenues by Month in 2005 Analysis After careful consideration, I decided to look at the yearly trend of just 2005 since we have all the data from that year. If you will notice, October is by far the biggest selling month, whereas July is the lowest, but mostly the trend is pretty consistent across the year. Graphic Recommendation I recommend that we find out what about October spikes sales, and try to apply it to the rest of the year. Also, I’d consider adding special sales and discounts in March and April, the lowest sales months of the year, that should help perk up sales in the slower months. SELF ASSESSMENT From completing the Excel project, I learned so much about excel. At the beginning of this class I was very confident and nearly cocky about my knowledge in excel, but boy oh boy have I learned a LOT of neat new tools to add to my bag of tricks. I learned specifically about pivot tables which are beyond helpful for organizing data in a more readable way, and see the things that you want to see. I also learned a lot of new ways to sort and organize information in clean and easily read ways. This was a tough project to tackle at first, but I feel a lot better about the things I have learned in excel since finishing it.

Happiness Emotion Essay

Happiness is an emotion and feeling of contentment, gladness and pleasure. In some instances it may be in our power or in some other cases it may not be. Feeling of happiness is a transitory stage; however, it can turn into a long-term state when we and our surroundings constantly adopt those practices that cause happiness and pleasure. Maslow talked about long-term happiness. It can be subjective happiness or objective happiness. Maslow belief was on objective happiness. In the state of happiness our own self-deception plays a vital role. One can think of being happy when he’s not or one can be happy and content but not aware of this state. Some philosophers view that the state of being happy is completely under our control. We can choose to be happy or not. The power of being happy or unhappy is a state of mind. Because some people are happy over one thing, while others feel just the opposite of the same thing. It depends on our daily habits and practices. But Maslow believed that happiness is to have a good pleasurable life that one can achieve with his full potential. He thinks one can be happy when one is living a high-quality good life. According to Csikszentmihalyi, the philosophy of happiness in human society has always been under great controversies and discussions. Human brutality, war and conflict have caused great deal of violence, aggression and miseries in the society. Prevailing happiness in the society is not an easy task. It would require improving our relations with others. This includes all kinds of relations, relations between the nations, between different ethnic groups, between different cultures and societies. Developing relationship with others need changing our attitudes. A conflict starts when our attitude and behavior is not good with others. Keeping good attitude and behaving with others gently will only cause happiness to prevail. Harshness, brutality, rudeness, and aggressive attitude give rise to conflict, hatred and eventually war. For maintaining happiness in the society, it is not only important to improve our attitudes but to protect them and promote them to guard happiness. Happiness exists when all rights of people are protected and they get justice when harm is done to them. Philosophers define happiness as not just the ‘end of conflict’ but it’s a continuous process of developing relationships and promoting good behavior. Csikszentmihalyi gives broader view of happiness with respect to its existence and outcomes in history. He analyses how the aggression has existed in society and how happiness had evolved and been affective in prevailing tranquility in the society. Happiness exists in our feelings when our behavior inspires courteousness, love of neighborhood, sympathy, charity, if combined, defeat poverty, discrimination, abuse and other hatred attitudes. Trust in religion can overcome hatred & disgust, while it ends discrimination and does not foster inequity but love. Hurting, destroying and harming others spread pain. However, love halts this devastation and ends pain.   The demands of nurturing and sustaining such love are very high. Respect for religion inspires. According to Csikszentmihalyi, a happy meaningful life might be different in views of different people depending upon the achievements in different areas, which cover happiness, wealth, richness, health, love, marriage, family & relations. However, apart from these, there are spiritual and existential needs that give meaning to life. The desire to attain this meaning is not fulfilled or overcome by relative meanings, but this comes by ultimate gift. The former is limited to specific realm of meaning, while later is permanent, whatever we attain meaninglessness continues. Our moral responsibility is the necessity and our actions take root from our determination and our own choice. For this we are going to answer in the hereafter about our deeds. If our deeds are according to God’s law and His doctrine then we may be rewarded by Him but if our deeds are in rejection to what God created as ‘norms’ of life then we can be punished by Him. A voluntary act differs from a non-voluntary one in that first one has self-conscious advertence (to turn one’s attention to) to that particular action and self-choice for own causality. It has a choice that the act has been chosen by one’s own awareness. Thoughtful ideas and volition consciously started, but later continued merely spontaneously, without reflective advertence remains free because there was a free choice for bringing it about by elective adoption. Lyubomirsky states that everything, which is going on in the world, is the result of some previous event, or events. Therefore, everything that exists is already in pre-determined or pre-existent state and, hence, nothing new can come into existence. This holds the view that every event is simply the result of past events. This, in turn, has deep and radical effects on morality, science, and religion. According to the view of Lyubomirsky anything which is going to happen in the future is unalterable and is caused by prior events. It concludes that human freedom is an illusion. Free will is opposite to what determinism is, it is non-determination and freedom. The conscious of man are free to make genuine undetermined choices. Free will comes in a variety of types and strengths. Lyubomirsky states determination contradict free will and doctrine that it does not exist, because all events, are causally determined. Hence, our will can determine our happiness. This view shows that we’re in a system of parts, and strengthens the view compositional happiness, as commonly view by Christian complementariness in agreement with naturalist. According to Maslow, to build a system with happiness we must construct a physical or biological structure, and to successfully build such system, a mental life would emerge in that system. In support of this view, another philosopher suggests that to have a happy life means to have any peculiar kind of physical and emotional system. Philosophers assert that a person is system of material made up of different parts ordered in appropriate pattern. Thus, happiness may or may not be under our control. It some situations we can do things to make ourselves happy or at other times it may come without alarming. If existence is not taken into the meanings of a prosperous-being then, a society can exist without security, education and rules. But a society can never stand without any health. These three basic things are regarded as the very fundamental human rights namely security, education and health. The absence of the first two destroys the society as a whole but do not interfere with the individuals in a very direct way, but the absence of the third one destroys the entities of that society-the human beings itself. So health is the fundamental issue that a society has to care for. A society is said to exist on three main beams, Security of individuals, Education and health. Poor health conditions could affect the society in a way that even the other two collectively can not do. Nothing is more concerning to a person more than his health. Health is no doubt a basic human right. This basic right of an individual is the duty of a government. Only healthier persons can contribute effectively towards a productive society. Religion inspires courteousness, love of neighborhood, sympathy, charity, if combined, defeat poverty, discrimination, abuse and other hatred attitudes. Trust in religion can overcome hatred & disgust, while it ends discrimination and does not foster inequity but love. Hurting, destroying and harming others spread pain. However, love halts this devastation and ends pain.   The demands of nurturing and sustaining such love are very high. Respect for religion inspires â€Å"civility of love† for humanity, inspires people to trust, pray, and work diligently for a world where all people are respected. According to Lyubomirsky & Sheldon religion, especially monotheism, where God is the sole point of worship creates a direct relationship of man with God. Lyubomirsky & Sheldon’s writing has greatly been influenced by cosmological religiosity from in a sense though he is unable to do so as it largely relates to emotions, behavior and psychological health. He relates cosmological religiosity with human powers of love, emotions, feelings, and value as it is associated with the matter of soul. He stresses that cosmological religiosity is not a religious connotation but a science to deal with mental functioning in health and illness. For him, conscious and unconscious thought is not the matter of belief in God or not to believe in Him but about humanistic view of religion, his attitude, behavior and relationship with people and a positive attitude towards the society. But this humanistic definition of religion doesn’t actually encompass religious connotations. Though, in defining authoritarian view of religion, he is correct to some extent, where monotheism is regarded the only true form of religion while all other are deviation from this truth, he hasn’t yet been able to grasp the actual meaning of religion, its important role in man’s life and in his study of mind. In monotheism only one power, God, dominates, who has to be followed and respected with submission. However, he regards this type of submission as self-destruction. Here Lyubomirsky & Sheldon is proposing an incorrect view of â€Å"submission to God† as self-destruction, because history and facts show that this is the only way of developing a true and loving behavior with the Creator and the His creatures. The form of religion he states right i.e. humanistic, is actually not humanistic but self-indulgence and it hardly leads one to love his society and people but person’s life keeps revolving around himself without realization of duty-bound to his responsibilities and right of God and His people. Hence the three articles conclude about different views of happiness. Happiness lies in one’s inner-self and how we view outside world. Our personality and psychology plays vital role that how we perceive certain things as good for us and some as bad. References A Theory of Human Motivation` by Maslow If We Are So Rich, Why Arent We Happy? by Csikszentmihalyi – Pursuing Happiness by Lyubomirsky, Sheldon, and Schakade.