Detailed Overview Of Space Shuttles Engineering Essay

aˆ? Space birds are recoverable ballistic capsule designed to be used as a launch vehicle for Earth-orbiting experiments and as a short-run research platform. Earlier projectiles were used for puting spacemans and equipments in the outer infinite. But projectiles could be used merely one time i.e. they were non reclaimable. The thought of reclaimable â€Å" infinite bird † that could be launched like projectile and made to come in the Earth ‘s ambiance like an aeroplane appealed NASA. It began planing and measuring cost of infinite bird. Finally, after many old ages of building and testing, the bird was ready to wing and the dream became truth. As we will cognize in inside informations. A ) Definition: 1 ) Etymology: â€Å" infinite bird † consists of 2 words: Space: Space ( n. ) : Century1300, â€Å" an country, extent, sweep, oversight of clip, † aphetic of Old French espace, A fromA Classical Latin spatiumA † room, country, distance, stretch of clip, † of unknown beginning. Astronomic sense of â€Å" leading deepnesss † is foremost recorded 1667 in â€Å" Paradise Lost. † â€Å" Space is n't remote at all. It ‘s merely an hr ‘s thrust off if your auto could travel consecutive upwards. † [ Sir Fred Hoyle, â€Å" London Observer, † 1979 ] Space ( v. ) : 1703, â€Å" to set up at set intervals, † fromA spaceA ( n. ) . Meaning â€Å" to be in a province of drug-induced euphory † is recorded from 1968.A Space cadetA † bizarre individual disconnected with world † ( frequently connoting an familiarity with hallucinogenic drugs ) is a 1960s phrase, likely traceable to 1950s United States sci-fi telecasting plan â€Å" Tom Corbett, Space Cadet, † which was watched by many kids who dreamed of turning up to be one and succeeded. Shuttlecock: Shuttle ( n. ) : Old English scytelA † a dart, pointer, † from West Germanic skutilaz ( Old Norse skutillA † harpoon † ) from Proto-Germanic skut-A † undertaking † . The weaving instrument so called ( 1338 ) from being â€Å" shooting † across the togss. In some other linguistic communications, the machine takes its name from its resemblance to a boat ( Classical Latin navicula, Gallic navette, German weberschiff ) . Sense of â€Å" train that runs back and Forth † is foremost recorded 1895, from image of the weaver ‘s instrument ‘s back-and-forth motion over the deflection ; extended to aircraft 1942, to spacecraft 1969. Hence alsoA shuttlecockA ( 1522 ) . Shuttle ( v. ) : 1550, â€Å" move quickly to and fro, † fromA shuttleA ( n. ) ; sense of â€Å" conveyance via a shuttle service † is recorded from 1930.2 ) Definition:There are many definitions for â€Å" infinite bird † :â€Å" a rocket-launched ballistic capsule able to set down like an unpowered aircraft, used for journeys between Earth and trade revolving the Earth. †Ã¢â‚¬Å" A reclaimable ballistic capsule with wings for controlled descent in the ambiance, designed to transport spacemans between Earth and an orbiting infinite station and besides used to deploy and recover orbiters. †Ã¢â‚¬Å" A infinite transit system ( STS ) developed by NASA. Consisting of a reclaimable, winged satellite ( what most people think of as the â€Å" Space Shuttle † ) , a set of recoverable supporter projectiles, and a fuel armored combat vehicle. †B ) What is infinite bird?We can state it is any vehicle capable of going repeatedly between the Earth â⠂¬Ëœs surface and outer infinite transporting people or lading ; Any vehicle capable of repeatedly going between finishs in outer infinite transporting people or lading1 ) Space trade:It is a trade or machine designed for space travel. Spacecraft are used for a assortment of intents, including communications, earth observation, weather forecasting, pilotage, planetal geographic expedition and infinite touristry. Spacecraft and infinite travel are common subjects in plants of scientific discipline fiction.a ) Space bird:The Space Shuttle, portion of the Space Transportation System ( STS ) , and it is the chief portion of this trade, Space Shuttle on NASA ‘s America, which is officially called Space Transportation System ( STS ) , is the ballistic capsule is used by the Government of the United States manned infinite flight, is scheduled to be withdrawn from service in 2010. At launch, the shuttle consists of: * External fuel armored combat vehicle is orange in colour. A * Rockets to force two solid-fuel, thin white supremacists and the SRB. * The satellite, which is a vehicle similar to the aircraft wing, which represents the infinite bird can transport heavy equipment into infinite, every bit good as transporting orbiter launched into infinite. The bird can be transferred spacemans to outer infinite and convey them back to Earth with a warhead of up to 32 dozenss of unreal orbiters and worlds and equipment. One of the chief advantages of this vehicle is that it is reclaimable vehicle.B ) Satellite:A orbiter is an object which has been placed into orbit by human enterprise. Such objects are sometimes called unreal orbiters to separate them from natural orbiters such as the Moon. The first unreal orbiter, Sputnik 1, was launched by the Soviet Union in 1957. By 2010 1000s of orbiters have been launched into orbit around the Earth. These originate from more than 50 states and have used the orbiter establishing capablenesss of 10 states. A few hundred orbiters are presently operational, whereas 1000s of fresh orbiters and orbiter fragments orbit the Earth as infinite dust. A few infinite investigations have been placed into orbit around other organic structures and go unreal orbiters to the Moon, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Satellites are used for a big figure of intents. Common types include military and civilian Earth observation orbiters, communications orbiters, pilotage orbiters, conditions orbiters, and research orbiters. Space Stationss and human ballistic capsule in orbit are besides orbiters. Satellite orbits vary greatly, depending on the intent of the orbiter, and are classified in a figure of ways. Well-known ( overlapping ) categories include low Earth orbit, polar orbit, and geostationary orbit. Satellites are normally semi-independent computing machine controlled systems. Satellite subsystems attend many undertakings, such as power coevals, thermic control, telemetry, attitude control and orbit control.degree Celsius ) Rockets:A projectile or projectile vehicle is a missile, ballistic capsule, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains push by chuck outing a jet of fast traveling fluid from a projectile engine. The action of the fluid against the interior of burning Chamberss and enlargement noses is able to speed up the fluid to highly high velocity, and this exerts a big reactive push on the projectile ( an equal and opposite reaction harmonizing to Newton ‘s 3rd jurisprudence ) .Rockets, in military and recreational utilizations, day of the month back to at least the thirteenth century. Significant scientific, interplanetary and industrial usage did non happen until the twentieth century, when rocketry was the enabling engineering of the Space Age, including puting pe s on the Moon. Rockets are used for pyrotechnics, arms, expulsion seats, launch vehicles for unreal orbiters, human space travel and geographic expedition of other planets. While relatively inefficient for low velocity usage, they are really lightweight and powerful, capable of bring forthing big accelerations and of achieving highly high velocities with sensible efficiency. Chemical projectiles are the most common type of projectile and they typically create their fumes by the burning of projectile propellent. Chemical projectiles store a big sum of energy in an easily-released signifier, and can be really unsafe. However, careful design, proving, building and usage minimizes hazards.vitamin D ) Automatons:Robot of the infinite is a mechanical device able to transport out operations of pre-programmed and command the public presentation are normally hard and unsafe Activities such as seeking for revelation of the ambiance and gaining control images of infinite, infinite land and the universe of mod ern engineering serves.after a batch of the design of the technology, applied scientists succeeded in doing a automaton can swim in infinite. The automaton has unreal intelligence and have the ability to acknowledge Patterns, place systems, concluding and decision with the development.They can travel, talk and have ability to gaining control and transportation of objects. the head of automaton transportation the computing machine signal to information, it can transport them out, so change over them to computing machine once more it has ability to change over audio signals are captured by a mike to a group of written words that the automaton understood and stored in a package of automaton that can analysis and simulation to understand natural linguistic communication.C ) Use:1 ) Advantages of infinite birds:infinite bird has ability to research the infinite by traveling spacemans to the surface of Moon to profit their societies. Peoples have begun to cognize about infinite and astronomical intents.that have made it possible to detect mountains and craters on the Moon and planets Has proceeded so far more work forces on the Moon, and completed a broad scope of remote-controlled missions to the Moon and several planets. Discovered during the past 10 old ages entirely more than 150 planets outside our solar system. on planet of Earth, universe citizens have reaped tremendous benefits from infinite geographic expedition through infinite bird that support communicating, pilotage and meteoric systems, in add-on to other distant detection. And contributed to the engineering associated with infinite geographic expedition and scientific cognition had been gained in the industry of reckoners and robotic first-class public presentation, provinces are active in the field of infinite flight has been sent ballistic capsule mechanism other than worlds to all the planets in our solar system. We expect that humans walking on the Moon once more.The infinite bird encompass 11 infinite bird flights to infinite through scientific experiments conducted in the station, to better life on Earth and pave the manner for future infinite geographic expedition. the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and its secondary warhead, the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, from the United States. Involve all of those flights on some international cooperation.2 ) Disadvantages of infinite birds:Each infinite bird flight destroys 0.25 % of the ozone bed, the people in the remainder of the universe are now reasoning abou t the assorted theories that attempt to explicate the causes of the ozone hole, infinite bird flights destroy the ozone bed, The 300 flight of the bird will take to the devastation of the ozone bed wholly and so infinite bird missions, which releases immense measures of toxic chemicals in every second from the minute of launch, the usage of liquid-fuel engine cleansing agent in the missiles because they are more expensive than the dry-fuel engines. In add-on, there is besides the hazard of Damage on the land, if debris re-entry into Earth ‘s ambiance.II ) HistoryA ) Space history1 ) Space theories:Galileo Galilei ( 1564- 1642 ) is a physicist and uranologist who was born in Pisa, Italy. Galileo made a large part in the field of uranology. Galileo made the first complete astronomical telescope, discovered that the Moon is dark but it is reflecting with a reflected visible radiation from the Sun, he discovered that the surface of the Moon is n't level, it has uneven mountains, h e besides discovered that the Milky Way consist of many separate stars. Galileo discovered the four largest orbiters of Jupiter in 1610, he studied the egg-shaped form of Saturn but his telescope restriction stopped him from the resolution of Saturn ‘s rings. He besides discovered the stages of Venus, the musca volitanss on the Sun and he confirmed his credence of the Copernican theory of the solar system2 ) The dream became true:The development of big liquid-fueled projectile engines in the first of the twentieth century allowed the dream of researching the outer infinite to go true. Physical infinite geographic expedition happened through both human space travels and robotic ballistic capsules. Space geographic expedition helped in progressing scientific research, unifying many states, developing military advantages, and guaranting the future endurance of humanity.B ) Detecting SpaceDuring the World War II, German scientists took the first stairss into the outer infinite while proving theV2 projectile, the V2 projectile became the first human-mad e object in infinite. After the war, German scientists began to do projectiles in plans for military and civilian research. The cosmic radiation experiment which was launched by the U.S. on a V2 projectile in 1946 was the first scientific geographic expedition. In the same twelvemonth the first images of Earth was taken. In 1947, the first carnal experiment was achieved by raising fruit flies into infinite on a modified V2 projectile that was launched by Americans. But these experiments merely made a really short clip in infinite which was n't utile plenty. There was a infinite race between the Soviet Union and the United provinces. The Soviet Sputnik Satellite mission in 1957 was the first successful orbital launch, it went around the Earth at a tallness of 250 kilometer. It had two wireless senders which made bleeps that could be heard by wirelesss around the Earth. The wireless signals analysis was used to garner information about the negatron denseness of the ionosphere. Two months subsequently, the American infinite plan unsuccessfully tried to establish Vanguard 1 into orbit. In 1958, the U.S. successfully launched Explorer 1 on a Juno projectile, while the Soviet Canis familiaris Laika became the first animate being in the infinite in 1957. In 1961, Vostok 1 which carried the 27 old ages old Russian Yuri Gagarin, was the first successful human space travel. The ballistic capsule orbited the universe in 1 hr and 48 proceedingss. It was a presentation of the advanced Soviet infinite plan. Yuri Gagarin After one month, the U.S. launched a individual into infinite in Mercury-Redstone 3, John Glenn ‘s Mercury-Atlas 6. The first adult female in the infinite was Valentina Tereshkova who orbited the Earth 48 times in 1963. 48 old ages after Vostok 6, China launched Yang Liwei in Shenzhou 5 ballistic capsule.C ) Space Shuttle DevelopmentNear the terminal of the Apollo infinite plan, NASA functionaries were looking to the American infinite plan ‘s hereafter. They were utilizing one-shot, disposable projectiles. They needed something that was cheaper than a projectile, possibly something that was reclaimable. They liked the thought of a reclaimable â€Å" infinite bird † that could establish like a projectile and land like an aeroplane, and they thought that it would be a proficient accomplishment. NASA and many aerospace companies began to plan, cost and applied scientist surveies on a infinite bird, they besides explored the constructs. In 1972, President Nixon announced that NASA would develop a reclaimable infinite bird or STS ( infinite transit system ) . NASA decided that the infinite bird would dwell of an satellite attached to a solid projectile supporters and an external fuel armored combat vehicle. By that clip, ballistic capsules used ablative heat shields that would fire away when the ballistic capsule re-enter the Earth ‘s ambiance, so, for the infinite bird to be reclaimable, they have to utilize a different scheme. The interior decorators of the infinite bird thought that they can cover the infinite bird with many insulating ceramic tiles that could absorb the heat of the infinite shuttle re-entry without harming the spacemans. The infinite bird was meant to wing like a plane, more like a sailplane during the landing. The interior decorators built a working satellite to prove the aerodynamic design, but it was n't built to travel into the outer infinite. That satellite was called the Enterprise after the â€Å" Star Trek † film spaceship. The Enterprise flew many flight and landing trials, where it was launched from a Boeing 747 and glided to a landing at Edwards Air Forse Base in California. Finally, after many old ages of building and proving including the satellite, chief engines, external fuel armored combat vehicle and solid projectile supporters, the bird was ready to wing and travel into the outer infinite. NASA made four birds which are â€Å" Columbia † , â€Å" Discovery † , â€Å" Atlantis † and â€Å" Challenger † .D ) Trips and Catastrophes:In 1981 was the first flight with a infinite bird â€Å" Colombia † . Astronauts â€Å" John Young † and â€Å" Robert Crippen † piloted the infinite bird Colombia. Colombia performed good and the other birds shortly made several successful flights. In 1986, the bird â€Å" Challenger † exploded in a flight and the whole crew was lost. NASA stopped the shuttle plan for several old ages, while the grounds of the Challenger catastrophe were unknown and being investigated. After many old ages, the infinite bird flew once more and NASA built a new bird â€Å" Endeavour † to replace â€Å" Challenger † the shuttle fleet. In 2003, while the shuttle â€Å" Colombia † was re-entering the Earth ‘s ambiance, it broke up over Texas, the United States. The loss of Colombia was because of a piece of foam insularity in the size of a briefcase broke off the infinite shuttle external armored combat vehicle under the aerodynamic forces of launch. The debris struck the taking border of the left wing, that damaged the bird ‘s TPS, which protect the bird from the heat of re-entering the Earth ‘s ambiance. NASA stopped the infinite bird plan after the accident and worked difficult to do some alterations and return the birds to wing once more. The exact words of the President George W. Bush were: â€Å" This twenty-four hours has brought awful intelligence and great unhappiness to our countryA †¦ The â€Å" Columbia † is lost ; there are no subsisters. † And he announced that the infinite plan would go on: â€Å" The cause in which they died will go on. Our journey into infinite will travel on. † In 2006, the bird â€Å" Discovery † lost froth from its external fuel armored combat vehicle. NASA stopped the infinite bird plan once more and the scientists struggled to work out the job. The â€Å" Discovery † was launched two times in 2006, the first clip was in July and once more in December, harmonizing to NASA, this launch was the most photographed shuttle mission in history. The â€Å" Atlantis † was launched in September 2006, after hold due to endure, a job with the fuel cell and a faulty detector reading. The infinite birds are a antic technological progress, but they are limited when it comes to how much warhead they can take into orbit. The birds are n't the heavy lift vehicles like the Saturn V or the Delta projectiles. The bird ca n't travel to high heights orbits or get away the gravitative field of the Earth to go to Mars or the Moon. NASA is presently researching and seeking a new constructs to establish vehicles which van travel to the Moon or Mars.The â€Å" Colombia † CrewIII ) How does infinite shuttle work?A ) Space bird theorySpace bird theory is about get rid of gravitation by acquiring on a velocity of the similar velocity to get away from the ambiance. It is a Complex to cognize how to raise the 4.5 million lb ( 2.05 million kilogram ) bird from the tablet to revolve ( 115 to 400 miles/185 to 643 kilometers ) above the Earth.B ) Taking off and set downingaˆ? Taking off: On the twenty-four hours of a launch, after the concluding clasp in the countdown at T minus 9 proceedingss, the Shuttle goes through its concluding readyings for launch, and the countdown is automatically controlled by the Ground Launch Sequencer ( GLS ) , package at the Launch Control Center, which stops the count if it senses a critical job with any of the Shuttle ‘s on-board systems. The GLS hands off the count to the Shuttle ‘s on-board computing machines at T minus 31 seconds, in a procedure called car sequence start. aˆ? Landing: When a mission is finished and the bird is midway around the universe from the set downing site ( Kennedy Space Center, Edwards Air Force Base ) , mission control gives the bid to come place, which prompts the crew to: 1-Close the lading bay doors. In most instances, they have been winging nose-first and upside down, so they so fire the RCS pushers to turn the satellite tail foremost. 2-Once the satellite is tail foremost, the crew fires the OMS engines to decelerate the satellite down and fall back to Earth ; it will take about 25 proceedingss before the bird reaches the upper ambiance. 3-During that clip, the crew fires the RCS pushers to flip the satellite over so that the underside of the satellite faces the ambiance ( about 40 grades ) and they are traveling nose foremost once more. 4-Finally, they burn left over fuel from the forward RCS as a safety safeguard because this country encounters the highest heat of re-entry.C ) Inside control:When we are speaking about the inside control we know instantly that the spaceman is a really of import individual to command the bird, and is a individual trained by a human space travel plan to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a ballistic capsule. While by and large reserved for professional infinite travellers.IV ) Space shuttle constituents:A ) Outside:1 ) Space Shuttle Tank:a ) External Tank:Is vehicle that contains two liquids are hydrogen fuel and O oxidant. During acclivity it supplies the fuel and oxidant under force per unit area to the three infinite bird chief engines, external armored combat vehicles have non been re-used. The ET is the anchor of the bird during launch, supplying strong support for fond regard with the SRBs ( solid projectile supporters ) and satellite. This armored combat vehicle connected to the satellite and the SRBs. Over the old ages, NASA has worked to cut down the weight of the ET to increase overall efficiency. LOX ( Liquid Oxygen Tank ) : is at the top of the ET ( external armored combat vehicle ) , its Length: ( 16.6A m ) – Diameter: ( 8.4A m ) . LH2 ( Liquid Hydrogen Tank ) : is at the underside of the external armored combat vehicle, The armored combat vehicle is constructed of four cylindrical barrel subdivisions, the barrel subdivisions are joined together by five major pealing frames, the LH2 armored combat vehicle has a volume of 53,488A three-dimensional pess ( 1,514.6A M3 ) . its Length: ( 29.6A m ) – Diameter: ( 8.4A m ) . ET thermic protection system: consists chiefly of sprayed-on froth insularity, Thermal isolators are required for liquid H armored combat vehicle fond regards to prevent the liquefaction of air on open metal, and to cut down heat flow into the liquid H. Development of the ETs thermic protection system has been so difficult consisted of a battery power beginning, a receiving system, aerials and munition.B ) Internal:it joins the LOX armored combat vehicle and the HL2 armored combat vehicle. The internal armored combat vehicle length is ( 6.9A m ) , diameter is ( 8.4A m )2 ) Two projectiles:Those are called SRBs ( Solid Rocket Booster ) used during the first two proceedingss of powered flight, SRBs provide the chief push to raise the bird off the up to an height of about 46A kilometers, the two SRBs carry the weight of the external armored combat vehicle and satellite and convey the weight burden, the SRBs are the largest solid-propellant motors of all time flown, each SRB weighs about 1,300,000 lbs at launch. SRBs constituents are: keep down stations, electrical power distribution, hydraulic power units, thrust vector control, rate gyro assemblies, and propellent.3 ) The organic structure:is the orbital ballistic capsule of the Space Shuttle plan, the satellite is a reclaimable winged â€Å" ballistic capsule † , the ballistic capsule can transport crews, the Orbiter looks like an aircraft with double-delta wings. The Orbiter ‘s crew cabin consists of three degrees: the flight deck, the mid-deck, and the public-service corporation country. The upper 1 is the flight deck which seats the pilot, with two mission specializers behind them. The mid-deck, which is below the flight deck, has three more seats for the remainder of the crew members, and the galley, lavatory, sleep locations, and storage cabinets besides on the mid-deck. The Thermal Protection System ( TPS ) covers the exterior of the Orbiter, protecting it from the cold soak of -121 A °C in infinite to the 1649 A °C heat. The satellite is made chiefly from aluminum metal, although the engine push construction is made from Ti metal. Its length: ( 37.24 m ) – tallness: ( 17.25 m ) – empty weight: ( 68,585 kilogram ) . The crew: ( 6-7 â€Å" Commander, Pilot, 4-5 Mission Specialists and/or Payload Specialists † , 2 â€Å" Commander and Pilot † for lower limit ) .V ) Manufacturing infinite birdVI ) Latest events:Finally allow us turn to the latest events of infinite birds and the latest intelligence, engineerings, trips aˆÂ ¦aˆÂ ¦aˆÂ ¦..A ) Latest intelligence:Discovery: In 19/4/2010 The infinite bird Discovery and its spacemans arrived back on Earth, A wrapping up a 15-day, 6 million-mile journey to the International Space Station, taking a rare flight way that carried them over America ‘s heartland.A Discovery commanding officer Alan Poindexter and pilot James Dutton guided the trade, set downing on Runway 33 at Kennedy Space Center around 9:08 ante meridiem ET.A The sky over NASA ‘s Florida landing strip cleared plenty at dawn to give Mission Control the assurance to convey the seven spacemans place. An hr before the scheduled 9:08 ante meridiem touchdown, commanding officer Poindexter and his copilot fired the braking projectiles and began their descent.A It was Discovery ‘s thirty-eighth flight and penultimate flight.A Atlantis: Atlantis bird has made 31 flights and now is being prepared for the following flight. Space shuttle Atlantis was moved to the launch tablet in 22/4/2010 inA readying for the STS-132 mission, targeted for launch May 14 at 2:19 p.m.B ) Latest engineerings:â€Å" Lockheed X-33 Launch Vehicle † A is the paradigm for the new infinite bird to be used by NASA in the twenty-first century. Developed a usage Field-Programmable-Gatearray ( FPGA ) utilizing the verilog linguistic communication for an Advanced Flight Experiment. When commanded, this FPGA reads informations from the Advanced Gyro, Accelerometers, and Temperature detectors, so transmits the information back to the flight computing machine. Through the usage of the raising organic structure form, composite liquid fuel armored combat vehicles, and the aerospike engine, A NASAA andA Lockheed MartinA hoped to prove wing a trade that would show the viability of aA single-stage-to-orbitA ( SSTO ) design. An SSTO trade would non necessitate external fuel armored combat vehicles or supporters to make low-earth orbit. Making off with the demand for â€Å" presenting † with launch vehicles, such as with the Shuttle and the Apollo projectiles, would take to an inherently more dependable and safer infinite launch vehicle. While the X-33 would non near airplane-like safety, the X-33 would try to show that 0.997 dependability, or 3 bad lucks out of 1,000 launches, which would be an order of magnitude more dependable than the Space Shuttle system, was accomplishable. The 15 planned experimental X-33 flights could merely get down this statistical rating.

Paper on: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Paper on: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Mr. Gordon Jesse Jonathon 12/3/2012 1)Neorealism was a movement in film production that emerged out of the second World War in Italy. The defeat of Italian fascism led to the crushing of the Italian film industry. Before the war, Italy had produced commercial studio fare. Economic decline post-war and the occupation by American forces did not allow for the continuation of the production of commercial studio fare. The studios, post-war, were used as refugee camps and as storage facilities for occupying militaries.The war ravaged landscapes of Italy provided the only available backdrop to the new films being produced, since the studios were mostly unavailable for use by filmmakers. Due to the war torn backdrops of these new films, it created the need to film about contemporary realities. The lower budgets, limited resources, and filming on location lead to the gritty reality look of this new film style. Neorealism in film is commonly desc ribed and seen as a film that was filmed on a location, rather than in a studio setting only; a film that demonstrates authenticity, and often seen with rejecting classical hollywood acting styles.To sum up the generalization of neorealism, it is a realistic representation of life. Roberto Rossellini is credited to making the first neorealism film and the most important neorealism film. His first film was Rome, open city, this is the first neorealism film. It is considered a neorealistic film because of its demonstration of the gritty real life suffering of the Italians during the second World War. Rossellini’s second film was Paisa, this was one of the most important neorealistic films.It is a neorealism film because its shows six stories through out the second World War with narration providing the setting of the time and place in history. The second most important neorealist filmmaker was Vittorio De Sica. His film Bicycle Thieves is seen as one of the most famous neoreali sm films. It is a neorealism film because the star was a non-actor. The film was full of real people conveying real life. The film critic Roger Ebert does not consider Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind a neorealism film. Ebert stated that the movie was â€Å"†¦ like an endless series of aborted MeetCutes. †. This is a main reason why Ebert says it is not a neorealism film. Traditionally neorealism films avoid using classical hollywood acting techniques like meet cutes. This film seems to be a series of meet cutes that never quite come to a conclusion. Ebert considers this movie an extreme example of maze cinema. 2)There are different forms of narratives, some of which are the Linear Narrative, Non-Linear Narrative, Maze Cinema, and Hyperlink Cinema. A linear narrative is a story in which it starts at the beginning goes through the middle to the end, in a linear pattern.Around the World in 80 Days is an example of a linear narrative because of its progression from poi nt A to point B to point C in a linear fashion. A non-linear narrative is when a story is pieced together throughout the movie. This type of film tends to jump from one scene to the next in a non sequential order. Hunt for Red October is a classic example of a non-linear narrative due to its flashbacks and multiple story line progression. A Maze Cinema is a film with multiple interconnecting stories or pathways, creating a maze effect.Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is an example of a maze cinema due to its multiple pathways and character stories within the main story itself. A hyperlink cinema is a movie made up of many independent stories that are linked by one small common thread. Crash is an example of a hyperlink cinema because of the idea of the 6 degrees of separation. Linear and non-linear narratives can be grouped in the sense that they are a more traditional approach. Maze and hyperlink cinema take the more creative approach to film making.Roger Ebert referred to Ete rnal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind as a â€Å"radical example of Maze Cinema†, because this movie is the epitome of maze cinema. This movie has the many stories woven into one larger overlaying story. 3)Mike LaSalle, from the San Francisco Chronicle, was quoted as saying â€Å"Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is not about how love conquers all but about how people can be weak and foolish and waste their lives on stupid, destructive relationships. It’s a cold movie about love that was meant to be cold. † LaSalle’s views tend to be on the opposite scale of the more mainstream opinion.The majority, according to my research of film critiques, is that most see this film as a romantic movie. These critiques all seem to repeat the same opinion, that love transcends all and conquers all. LaSalle makes the case that this is simply not true. LaSalle strikes hard in his critique by showing the alternative side to the film. He states that it is a â€Å"coldâ₠¬  love story in which there is lack of emotion and one feels like the love life is set on repeat. LaSalle sets the stage for our minds to explore the new found view point that this story cleverly outlines the never ending track of repeated mistakes in ones love life.LaSalle’s opposition takes the hard fast post against the idea that this movie outlines the failure of love due to repeated mistakes. They tend to see it as the stone walls in which a lover must climb in order to find and gain ones true love. Sometimes mistakes are needed to be repeated until you can conquer them. LaSalle challenges this by giving us his critique in such a manner as to eloquently dispute the claim of his opponents. Works Cited Ebert, Roger. (2004). Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. LaSalle, Mick. (2004). San Francisco Chronicle.

Steve Jobs as one of the most influential business leaders of our time Term Paper

Steve Jobs as one of the most influential business leaders of our time - Term Paper Example Sadly for Steve, he never knew the love of his parents who later on decided to get married and then have another child, a daughter they named Mona. The unwanted baby was adopted by Clara and Paul Jobs who by profession were an accountant and coast guard veteran respectively. They lived in the Mountain View area of Silicone Valley where as a boy, Steve was influenced by his fathers affinity for all things electronic. He would spend many a day and hours learning how to take electronic things apart and put them back together from his father. It was this activity that kick-started Steve's lifelong love affair with all things electronic and technical. Always a man ahead of his time, a young Steven had problems adjusting to regular academic life. He was known as a prankster at school who needed to be coaxed into completing his tasks. Though unfocused and unwilling to sit down and be taught, the principal of his school and his teachers agreed that his boredom and restlessness came from the fact that his intellectual ability was not challenged at his current academic level. The boy tested with a high school learning curve as early as the 4th grade but his parents refused to let the school accelerate him to the proper academic level as dictated by his intellectual quotient exams. By 1971, Steve found himself enrolled at Homestead High School where he would go on to meet Apple co-founder and future business partner Steve Wozniak. Wozniak was, at the time, attending the University of Michigan. Both men had an affinity for computers and other common interests, including an independent mind attitude about how things should be done in the world. It was also this close affinity that would lead to their parting of their business ways later on in their lives. (â€Å"Steve Jobs†) Although Steve enrolled at Reed College in Portland, Oregon, his lack of direction in life led hi to drop out after only 6 months. He would then spend 18 months in creative classes where he would develop a keen interest in calligraphy, which became one of the most notable aspects of Apple Computers later on. In 1974, Steve tried his hand at working for a computer software company and found himself employed at Atari. But even this exposure to the business side of computers left Steve aimless. He spent a period of time trying to find spiritual fulfillment in India along with his use of psychedelic drugs. This was the time when the aimless boy began to find himself and develop into an innovative thinker, far ahead of his time. By 1976 he had convinced Wozniack to team up with him so they could establish Apple Computers with its head office located in his parent's garage. Steve Job's vision at this time was to create a personal computer far different from the mainframes that offices were using this era. His was going to be small enough to fit in a corner in the home and be easy enough for even a child to use. With Wozniack's help, the two men created the first personal computer for home use. Their first Apple computer was sold for $666.66 each. It was from that sale that the home office began to grow to eventually become the juggernaut computer software and hardware leader that it has now become. But the Apple computer as Steve Wozniack had put it together was far from perfect. Jobs knew that there was room for improvement. He just could not put his finger on what that improvement needed to be.

Interviews and Observations in Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Interviews and Observations in Education - Essay Example The objectives in the third section deal with the similarities and differences between the two methods: interviews and observations. First of all, through the process of reflecting on different research, the writer must determine how similar the two methods are. Next, also through the process of reflecting on real research, the writer must determine the main differences between both methods with regard to: sensory, and participation. The aims of the fourth section deal with the different types of interviews and observations that can be conducted in different situations. First of all, the writer discusses both structured and unstructured interviews. Next the different ways of conducting observations in different places and for different purposes are discussed in detail. Finally, the aims of the fifth section are mainly to sum up the research paper. In this section, the main points of the paper are summed up and the main points drawn from the use of interviews and observations are discussed. Also, some recommendations for researchers in the field of education for the best use of data collection methods according to the different purposes of the research are included. The interviews and observations that were chosen for the purposes of this paper were selected based on their academic quality and overall relevance to the topic. Interviews and observations are solid methods and topics to discuss with regard to data collection in the educational field because of the quality of the data that they produce. The data is collected based on these methods because it is both primary and direct in nature. Therefore, it yields highly useful information that educational professionals can use to better manage the educational efforts that they participate in and perform on a daily basis. In order to select the specific interviews and observations that were discussed in the context of this particular paper, a basic Internet search was performed using the Google search engine. It is key to note that only the academic resources that were returned in the hit list were utilized. Common books and journal articles were chosen from the search string that was returned. Any potential resources that were determined to not be of solid academic quality, yet were returned in the hit list, were rejected for that very reason. In addition to the above method of resource location, a standard library search was conducted in order to obtain materials that were deemed to be of the same quality and standards. According to Inside Higher Ed (2008, pg. 1), "The problem is near-universal for professors who discover, upon assigning research projects, that superficial searches on the Internet and facts gleaned from Wikipedia are the extent - or a significant portion - of far too many of their students' investigations. It's not necessarily an issue of laziness, perhaps, but one of exposure to a set of research practices and a mindset that encourages critical thinking about competing online sources." The same research concept applies to the selection of the content of this paper. Great measures were taken to assure that this problem did not occur while research was being conducted to piece together this particular paper. The Different Research Methods that are Commonly Used for

Public's Trust on Government Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Public's Trust on Government - Essay Example The trust, as well as support of the citizens is very crucial in creating a strong and successful government. The following paragraphs will talk about a few reasons that would offer the individuals the basis in making sensible decisions in terms of giving their trust or not. Reasons for trusting the Government The first reason that proves a government is dependable is when it carries out its tasks appropriately. One of the key responsibilities is to concentrate on the requirements of its citizens. The most apparent among these are essential human requirements that are important for the people to lead a respectable life. Besides, the government must also recognize how to defend its citizens as well as its terrain from interior and exterior dangers like local rebellions and violence. The second reason is the notion of answerability. Public representatives should be liable to the activities of this political mechanism. With regard to this, they should as well be held accountable to the body that confers their power, which is the public. This is most pertinent in democratic governments in which the citizens cast their vote for their government officials. A government who is responsible makes it an aim to meet the satisfactory paradigm for excellent governance (Kennedy, 2009). Third, the government must permit the involvement of other stakeholders in their executive procedure. A dependable government should not just make preferences by themselves; they should obtain the input of other individuals who are as well concern with the result of what these choices might carry. These stakeholders should incorporate different regions from the society like non-governmental associations and even simple citizens of a nation. Fourth, a government have to practice transparency in its set of laws, policy, and decisions. The government must provide the public the essential information regarding key issues as well as strategies in the government. This would help the citizens to make intelligent decisions concerning their dealings particularly the ones associated with the constancy of their state. Fifth, a government that is worthy of the people's trust has the interests of its citizens in mind and this is significantly observed in the requisition of their budget. The government should truthfully use the taxpayer’s money by reliable ventures and programs that are free of dishonesty and irregularity (Nyre et al, 1997). Reasons for not trusting the Government In contrast, there are also reasons to distrust the government. First, the government is making bad strategies that are merely for the advantage of a small number of citizens particularly if it is the vested interest of those who are in authority. The government has no sense of accountability mainly in time of catastrophe. This is apparent, as they tend to hold one another responsible particularly if something incorrect took place. Second, huge corruption is taking place within the government. Citizen s' insights of corruption are rooted in general approach towards government, and that, as a result, these subjective signs may be only assessing the government's image, and not its real performance. Many of the commonly applied corruption signs are of a subjective nature. They mostly do not depend on a practical foundation, and leave significant independence to respondents whether to think about certain features. This generates issues of comparability, and calls respondents to widen their standpoint to whatever issue they wish when providing a view on corruption. Third reason for not trusting the government arises from citizens’ lived experiences with government. It recommends that the government is obsolete as well as old-fashioned and needs to be enhanced to restore trust. This distrust is a major obstruction to

Business Law Case Written Work Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Business Law Case Written Work - Research Paper Example Non-disclosure is the failure of volunteering important facts or information (Mallor, 2004). The law requires that the lease between Ms. Relief and Rem be in writing. This is according to the Statute of Frauds (Mallor, 2004). The fact that the agreement between Ms. Relief and Rem is for more than a one year from its formation date, it has to be in the form of writing. This clause is proper and does not impair the agreement of enforceability. As long the term of the lease has not begun, Rem can cancel the agreement and Ms. Relief will be at liberty to lease it to some other tenant. Rem would not win. The agreement between Force and Rem do not satisfy the elements required for an enforceable agreement. Force offered a promise in return for nothing from Rem thus rendering his promise gratuitous (Mallor, 2004). Rem would not win. This is because Rem had enforced the Cancellation clause of the lease document which provided for cancellation without penalties thus giving Ms. Relief the freedom to accept an offer from another

Effects of alum sludge and its application to farmland Research Paper

Effects of alum sludge and its application to farmland - Research Paper Example Even though I developed the insights within time constraints for completing the research, a reflection of the elements and further research has increased my knowledge and skills in completing a research report, a basis upon which I evaluate my research report. The most positive aspect of my experience in the research is completion of the research section. My preliminary research into the research identified significance of the results section and my efforts met the section’s role of describing collected data comprehensively. My results section described collected data from the experiment and offered necessary insights such as the optimal pH level for phosphorous absorption, 12, and negative effects of alum sludge on the level slaking and dispersion of soil. Data analysis section is another aspect of the experience that has highly positive (Ward, n.d.). The methods section however identifies the least positive aspects of the research experience. I was not able to incorporate essentials of the section’s elements such as definition of research design, research methods, data collection tools and their reliability and validity, as well as threats of researcher’s bias. My introduction into the report also failed to identify a research problem and research objectives and my literature review was not sufficient to establish a problem statement towards research questions and hypothesis into informed methodology (Rudestam and Newton, 2007; Gravetter and Forzano, 2010). Methodology section is the most significant area that I most plan to improve in because while it is core to the research process and determines validity and reliability of collected data besides the ability to collect desired data for analysis, the section was poorly developed. Even though its scope is wide, I have identified each of the aspects that must be considered for a proper methodology section. I therefore

Discuss what skills might be required from managers to cultivate and Essay - 1

Discuss what skills might be required from managers to cultivate and foster creativity and innovation in workforce. Use examples to illustrate your discussion - Essay Example It is only by realigning its goals and its operations to the changing economic conditions that an organization can continue being successful. In this regard, it reaming that managers should be competent with regard to managing change, bit within the organization and the change without the organization in order to remain competitive. These laws explain how acts by individual people with self interest lead to foreseeable results in the market. The laws define how competition is as a result of the individual people trying to achieve their own self interests. This competition then acts as the basis on which products are availed to the society. Competition, according to these laws creates a regulatory environment where the producers will have to confine themselves within these rules that come naturally from the competition forces, or they will be thrown out of the market. These producers are only motivated by profit and the only thing that can draw the boundary on how much they will exploit the society is Competition. Competition, according to Adam smith, does more than just regulate these producers, it pushes them towards meeting the society’s needs by forcing them to continually innovate products and goods that the society wants. Through this mechanism of Competition, the society subconsciously allocates, and reallocates the means of production to suit its needs. This leads to what Adam Smith referred to as the self regulating properties of the market. The constant need for economic growth leads to the need for constant change. Economic growth is a basic need in any society because the society wants to be able to meets its new needs to survive. As the society grown in terms of numbers, new challenges arrive and they must be dealt with. For instance, with increased population, more resources such as food, is required to keep the society fed. This would require better ways to produce food,

National Organization for Women Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

National Organization for Women - Essay Example The amendment known as Equal Rights Amendment had been introduced by Alice Paul, and it sought to make men and women have equal rights all over the United States, as well as any other place under its jurisdiction (Wood 85). The amendment received opposition, and it is unfortunate that up to this moment, it has not been ratified. Some people believe that collective action problems played a significant role in the Equal Rights Amendment’s ratification failure. This implies that the pro-ERA lobby groups did not co-ordinate their actions well while fighting for the common cause. Women were not united in their struggle for their rights. This was demonstrated by some women leaders such as Phyllis Schlafly, the right-wing leader of Eagle Forum, a lobby group that was created to stop ERA. Women who were in this group argued that ERA was going to deny women the right to obtain support from their husbands, women were going to be sent to battles, women’s privacy rights were going to be reversed, and that homosexual marriages and abortion rights was going to be upheld. Schlafly presented a consistent and coherent message, and this defeated the dispersed efforts from pro-ERA forces (Critchlow 215). The National Organization of Women (NOW) decided not to pursue a centrally managed and hierarchically organized support program for ERA. This is because it was faced with dilemmas regarding the organizational style to use while pushing for the amendment. This dilemma was brought about by the manner in which Schlafly’s opposition was well organized. If NOW had chosen to adhere to its decentralized and participatory style of management to agitate for ratification of ERA against the properly orchestrated campaign, there was no way it was going to be successful. Its only option to counter Schlafly’s campaign was to adopt the same campaign style, and this would mean that it compromises its ideals. Therefore, NOW chose to stick to its accustomed methods, and this led to ERA’s defeat. The ratification process was also made difficult by some external factors. For instance, the Supreme Court’s decision on the abortion case, Roe v. Wade on 22 Jan 1973, as well as the countrywide appreciation for Senator Sam Ervin as the chairman of the Senate Watergate hearings that commenced in May, made it difficult for the proponents of ERA. Social conservatives and fundamentalists were angered by the decriminalization of abortion, and to make it worse, ERA was linked with upholding of the abortion rights (Wood 86). Therefore, they campaigned against ERA as a way of retaliating the Supreme Court’s ruling. On the other hand, Senator Ervin had exemplary performed his duty as the chairman of the Senate Watergate hearings; thus, he was viewed as a savior to the United States Constitution. His portfolio, as the Senate opposing leader to ERA, played a significant role in influencing the southern states to refuse to ratify ERA. It is worth noting that Schlafly also made use of Senator Ervin’s influence to propel her campaigns. She included Senator Ervin’s wife in her campaigns in order to make her campaigns have a national appeal bearing in mind that Senator Ervin was highly regarded (Critchlow 220). NOW and pro-ERA lobby groups had difficulties handling the pressures that was being exerted by the opposition groups. This is attributed to the fact that several opposition groups kept springing, and their number

Fashion Existing Online Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Fashion Existing Online - Case Study Example The paper "Fashion Existing Online" talks about the fashion that exists online. In order for the company to successful in this competitive market of fashion, it has targeted particular market and potential customers worldwide. The targeted customer by MO is women who love fashion and are willing to pay adequately and in full price for luxurious shoes, clothes and accessories. The company targets specific customer; a customer who will be able to afford designer looks right off the runway and who is fashion conscious enough to buying the clothing. The company has already targeted 80% of American who are shoppers in New York, outside New York and Florida, whereby the company’s initial customers were their personal network and customers referred by the network (Mukti, 2014). The company is still low on target markets that they are aware to be biggest luxury markets; although it ships it’s good to more than 150 countries. They have targeted the European, Asian and Middle Eas t markets as they are growing very fast. Fulfillment eService for Moda Operandi can plug into its sales system in order to monitor the orders’ status and track deliveries. For Moda Operandi, it allows its customers to preorder exclusive designer looks that are ready to wear fashions, handbags, shoes, and accessories in online designer trunk-shows. With many designer products originating in Europe, Middle East and Asia, the company outsources fulfillment in order to service customer; thus making substantial financial savings.

EFFECTIVENESS ON TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT Essay Example for Free

EFFECTIVENESS ON TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT Essay This survey will be kept entirely confidential and is designed to solicit honest and candid feedback that will be used as a baseline for further and on-going work that will be done to improve overall organisational climate. Dear Sir/Madam, Thank you for taking part in this study. I am a MBA student in conducting analysis study on Training and Development in this organization. The basic purpose of this study is to identify effectiveness of the training and development imparted by you and its results in the performance of the employees. Kindly take some of your valuable time to fill out the questionnaire. Thank you for your valuable time. PERSONAL DETAILS Name : Gender: Q1) Does your company organises a training and development programme? Yes No Q2) Does your organisation identify the training needs for employees? Yes No Q3) How often training programmes organised in your company? Quarterly Half yearly Annually Every 2 years Q4) How well do you participate in various training programmes being conducted in organisation? Highly Fairly well Not always Q5) Training programmes help to improve the performance of employees and productivity of organization? Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly disagree Q6) Do you agree that your company have well designed training policy? Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly disagree Q7) Training programmes helps to increase your motivation? Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly disagree Q8) Training programmes improved your confidence towards work? Yes No Q9) Do you think training programmes are helpful to you in gaining new idea? Yes No Q10) Who in your opinion should give training? Expert from outside Internal faculty Personal department Supervisors Q11) Training helps to reduce stress at work? Yes No Q12) Is there any emphasis given on development of leadership skills through training programmes? Yes always Sometimes Not always Q13) Does the training programmes help you in good decision making at your jobs? Yes No Q14) In your opinion which method of training is useful for your organisation? On the job training Off the job training Q15) How did the training programmes benefit you during your service? Appreciation from superiors Improvement in work Quality enhancement Improvement in attitude Q16) Are you always motivated and looking forward for new training programmes after each programme? Yes always Sometimes Not always Q17) On the whole how will you rate the training programme being conducted in your organisation? Very good Good Satisfactory Poor Very poor Q18) Does the present system of training need any modification? If yes what are the suggestions to make future training programmes more effective?

Change Management Strategies at IKEA

Change Management Strategies at IKEA IKEA is the worlds most successful mass-market retailer, selling Scandinavian-style home furnishings and other house goods in 230 stores in 33 countries and hosting 410 million shoppers per year. An acronym for founder Ingvar Kamprad and his boyhood home of Elmtaryd, Agunnaryd, IKEA began operating in Sweden in 1943 and continues its original ethos based upon cost obsession fused with design culture. No design, no matter how inspired, finds its way into the catalogue if it cannot be made affordable.As a means of expanding the business, the company considered change in its business in the form of selling 2nd hand furniture by reconditioning damaged or old furniture stocked in its warehouse and offering furniture reconditioning services to customers. In developing this kind of business, it expects to make this constitute fifty percent of its business. 2. Term of reference In this part of the section, we will list several aspect of theoretical approaches that we could apply in the company to plan and implement the change. 3. Planning and implementing the change 3.1. The need factor during the change Waste reduction and improvement in recycling wastes are the issues that are driving the need for change. IKEA incurs waste because of damaged furniture during transportation, handling or wear-and-tear when stocked for longer periods in the warehouse. Although the compa . Problem/Issues that Prompted the Need for Change Waste reduction and improvement in recycling practices are the issues that prompted the need for change. Eastern Furniture Company incurs waste because of damaged furniture during transportation, handling or wear-and-tear when stocked for long periods in the warehouse. Although the company takes its cue from the inflow and outflow of furniture from its warehouse for delivery to customers in determining which furniture to make in greater volume and which furniture to stop making or make in lesser volume, the company has to manage a bulk of damaged furniture that it cannot sell. These take up valuable warehouse space and comprise loss for the company. Overall, the issue is one of efficiency, which has two elements. One is the ability to maintain a good ratio between the input allocated or employed and the output generated. Ideally, there should be balance in the ratio to ensure break-even but to ensure positive returns the ratio should be greater in favor of output. (Thompson, Strickland Gamble, 2007, p. 93) Waste represents input not transformed into output. The company wanted to place greater weight on output by optimizing resources use. Another is the enhancement of the skills in avoiding or preventing wastage of resources and time. The company has to minimize waste of both resources and time to improve performance. 3. Identifying and Assessing the Causes of Change Understanding the change and clarifying the justifications for the change is an important management process. There are various diagnostic tools useful in assessing change. These clarify the change and points to compelling reasons that supports the decision to implement the change. One tool is the force field analysis, which refers to the process of listing down the pros and cons of the planned change and evaluating the merit or soundness of the decision as well as the viability of the change (Hurt, 1998, p. 55). The table below shows the forces supporting and discouraging the implementation of the planned change. Forces for Change -boost resource management efficiency -increase sales -control cost -enhance profitability address customer demand -add value for products and services to customers increase market share -ensure sustainable growth Planned Change (establish a 2nd hand furniture trading) Forces against Change -increase operating cost -pull or stretching of available resources -resistance from managers and employees -risks of incurring further losses A number of forces support change. These forces encompass different areas from the improvement of resource management practices by optimizing output from the input used, financial performance in terms of sales and profitability by controlling cost, and marketing outcomes by meeting new demand and adding value to customers. The occurrence of these forces of change could mean sustainable growth for the company. However, there are also important forces discouraging the change. These include increasing operating cost because of the expansion of the business, the pull of resources from the existing business to the new business that means the stretching of available resources. There could also be resistance from managers and employees because of the change in organizational structure. The risk of incurring further losses in case the company is unable to manage effectively the rigors of the change process is also an adverse factor. By balancing these forces, it appears that the forces supporting change weigh greater than the forces discouraging change. Achieving the benefits is viable given the stable financial situation of the company and the opportunities for expansion in the market. The company has sufficient resources to invest in the change and the expected returns are high because of the growing market for refurbished and environmentally friendly furniture products and services. The establishment of a 2nd hand furniture business also adds value to its product and service offering to customers by providing customers with the opportunity to help in conserving the environment by minimizing waste through recycling. However, the company needs to address the forces discouraging change by developing a sound resource management and investment plan, developing preventive and contingency plans for risks, and easing the resistance of managers and employees. By addressing these discouraging factors, the company can e nsure expected results from the change. Another tool is critical pathways, which refers to the use of directions and schedules in planning tasks and monitoring completion to ensure the achievement of the expected results. Using this tool determines the viability of the change and the areas requiring focus. (Thompson, Strickland Gamble, 2007, p. 93) The table below shows the tasks required in the implementation of the change, the commencement period, the period for completion, type of activity, and the relative depends on the tasks necessary for completion. Task Commencement Completion Type Task Interdependence 1. marketing study Month 1 1 month Sequential 2. consultation of managers and employees Month 1 2 month Parallel 3. brainstorming and preliminary planning Month 2 2 months Parallel 2 4. expansion strategy implementation (i.e. mergers and acquisitions, joint venture, takeover, etc.) Month 4 2 months Sequential 1-3 5. restructuring and hiring of new employees Month 4 3 months Parallel 4 6. preliminary marketing activities Month 7 6 months Sequential 1-5 7. preliminary evaluation Month 10 1 month Sequential 1-6 8. final evaluation Month 12 1 month Sequential 1-7 The entire change process happens in a twelve-month period. The identified tasks support the viability of the change. The tasks distinguish the preparatory activities, implementation proper activities, and post-implementation activities that the company needs to complete the change process. The tasks also coincide with the issues requiring consideration such as resistance during the restructuring process relative to the results of the consultation with managers and employees and the development of the appropriate marketing activities coinciding with the results of the marketing study. The determination of the sequencing of tasks and interdependence of the tasks also supports the viability of the change by determining priorities during a particular period to ensure due preparation and evaluation of implementation. Overall, the critical pathways analysis supports the commencement of the change and identifies the tasks for completion to achieve the change. 3. Stakeholder Analysis The change process is organization-wide, which means various parties likely affected by the change involving the development of a 2nd hand furniture service. Stakeholders pertain to the parties linked to the business firm who stand to experience benefits or adverse effects from the change (Friedmand, 2007, p. 172). Identifying the stakeholders and the respective interests is important to develop ways of wining over these various stakeholders who are likely to contribute to the success of the planned change. Determining stakeholders or the parties affected by the change together with the impact of the change to these parties is also important in prioritizing stakeholder interests as well as the resolution of issues faced by the stakeholders. (French Delahaye, 1996, p. 22) There are a number of stakeholders in the planned change falling under either internal or external stakeholders. First is top management of the organization who decide on the change, direct strategy implementation, and carry accountability for the outcomes of the change. Second are middle managers affected by the change and comprise implementers of the tasks constituting change. Third are employees also affected by the change and serve as movers in the change process. These three stakeholders also constitute internal stakeholders as they form part of the organization and directly experience and participate in the change process. Fourth are suppliers of furniture retailed by the company who could be affected by the expansion. Fifth are investors and investment parts providing capital needed in the change process. Sixth are customers for whom the change is directed and from whom the impact of change is assessed. These last three stakeholders comprise external stakeholders by not being part of the organization. These stakeholders influence the change indirectly but could influence the success of the change management activity. There are a number of tools in analyzing these stakeholders. The application of these tools identifies stakeholder interests and clarifies the prioritization of stakeholder interests, in case of conflict. This is necessary to ensure that the intended impact for stakeholders and the expected response from these stakeholders ensure the achievement of objectives for the planned change. One analytical tool is the power model, which classifies stakeholders according to their relative power or influence in swaying the change process. There are four classifications of stakeholders relative to power, which are promoters, defenders, latents or apathetics. These classifications vary according to the interest in achieving the change and the influence on the change process. The model also determines the stakeholders included in the decision-making over the change process depending on the relationship with the company and the influence on the operations of the company. (Cooper, 2004, p. 13) Stakeholder Classification Prioritization of Change Influence on the Change Internal Stakeholders External Stakeholders Promoters High High Top Management Investors or Investment Partners Defenders High Low Middle Manager Latents Low High Employees Customers Apathethics Low Low Suppliers In implementing this analytical tool, the identified stakeholders fall under different classifications. This determines differences in interest and the means of managing these interests. In achieving the planned change via policy support, there should be strong support from the top management and middle managers. It is important achieve strong support from top company officers as well as middle managers to ensure the development and implementation of policies towards the planner change. To ensure successful implementation, it is important to consider and integrate the interests of investors to gain capital that supports the change process, employees who would implement tasks comprising the change process, and customers whose acceptance determine the marketability of the new business. Another analytical tool is the resource dependence theory (Frooman, 1999, p. 191) that classified the relationship between the firm and stakeholders into four types, which are 1) firm power, 2) high interdependence, 3) low interdependence, and 4) stakeholder power. The nature of the relationship determines the issues requiring resolution to manage effectively stakeholders. The core idea of this analytical tool is the recognition of the limited self-sufficiency of business firms so that they have to rely on their environment to address difficulties. Firm-Stakeholder Relationship Stakeholders Firm Power Middle Managers, Employees, Stakeholder Power Customers, Top Management High Interdependence Investors and Investment Parties Low Interdependence Suppliers The implementation of this analytical tool shows the stakeholder priority of the organization in achieving the planned change in the context of resource accumulation. Since the company has strong dependence on investors and investment parties as source of capital and investors also rely on the company to experience returns. This means that the company should develop mutual positive relationship with investors and investment parties. Since the power of stakeholder is high in the case of customers and top management, which means that the company should consider the important roles of top management in directing change policy and customers in justifying the area of change. 4. Change Implementation Strategy Determining the appropriate and effective change implementation strategy is an important part of the management of the planned change. The change implementation strategy determines points to the viability of the change by identifying the nature and direction of the intended change together with the corresponding roles of the parties involved and the activities requiring completion. There are two considerations in developing the change implementation strategy. One is the direction of the change, which is either top-down or starting from the front line. Another is the source of the factors for change, which is either internal or external. A top-down change implementation refers to planned change because change emanates from the implementation of change policy from the top management. This means that change occurs through directives from the top expressed through change in the attitudes and behavior of employees as well as work processes and output. Top-down change implementation strategy is also similar to the hierarchical model of change, which places stress on the manner of utilizing the firm structure, compensation and incentive system, and other control systems to facilitate the achievement of the intended change. As such, senior management serves as architects of the change and manages the organization to achieve the desired change. The hierarchical model usually applies in changes involving the change in structure, staff, compensation systems, incentives, performance measures, and other similar change. Control serves as the means of ensuring the change. Rational connection between the planners and doers also ens ures change implementation, which means that the intended change should be rational in terms of firms and stakeholder benefits to be accepted by the doers, which is made up of the front line employees. However, this also has limitations such as the use of inaccurate information to support decisions over the change process and problems in motivating change at the lower levels of the organizational structure. In addition, this aligns with the economic perspective of organizational change. (DeWit Meyer, 2004, p. 297) Change commencing from the front line refers to the encouragement of creativity and innovation at the bottom level of the organization. The creation of an innovative working environment and implementation of incentives for innovative outputs encourage employees to determine solutions to problems they experience in the delivery of products and services and dealings with customers. The implementation of these solutions comprises the change. This has relation to the cultural model of change implementation, which emphasize on the participation of employees at the lower level in the formulation and implementation of strategy in terms of information feedback to their immediate managers or supervisors. As such, there is a fusion between the roles of thinkers and doers because managers participating in doing while employees also take the role of thinkers. Because of this, the change focuses on the infusion of organizational culture across the firm. Top management provides broad guidance in i nnovation. (Goold Quinn, 1990, p. 176) This works well for decentralized business firms. However, this also limitations including the assumption that the managers and employees are well-informed and able to make informed decisions on areas of change and sound solutions to front line problems. Focus is difficult to maintain in using this model. The change process would also likely involve costs and involves a certain period. Not all organizations can afford the high price for change from the grassroots or culture-based change or have the luxury of time to wait for protracted change. (Parsa, 1999, p. 73) There is also an alternative change implementation perspective, the collaborative model, which requires the participation of senior managers in the process of strategy formulation. This means that top management facilitates brainstorming, consensus building and other collaborative methods in planning the change so that top management also comprises the bridge for change implementation on the part of middle managers and employees. (Goold Quinn, 1990, p.176) As an integrative model, this addresses the problem of information inaccuracy likely to occur in the implementation of top-down change as well as the assumption of complete information at the grassroots in applying the cultural model (Parsa, 1999, p. 73). The distinction between thinkers and doers blurs but this does not completely disappear because of the assumption of the parties of dual roles. Based on the understanding of the planned change, which is expansion by establishing a 2nd hand furniture business and requiring prioritization of the interests of investors and customers, the appropriate change implementation strategy is the collaborative model. The change involves the acquisition of business units, restructuring of the organizational structure, and hiring of new employees. The acquisition of new business units is a strategic issue for resolution at the level of top management with feedback from senior managers to support sound decision-making. The hiring of new employees and restructuring of the organizational structures are management issues for resolution at the senior management level obtaining policy guidance and confirmation from top management while at the same time obtaining feedback from middle managers and employees on emerging problems and effective solutions. Senior managers serve as the fulcrum balancing or bridging change implementation and the change process. Successful change ensures the interests of investors and customers. Change implementation strategy could also be internal and external. Internal change implementation means that the parties involved in the change are members of the organization and the achievement of change depends on internal competencies. External change means that the parties facilitating change do not form part of the organization and infuse external competencies into the change process. However, these are not conflicting, which means change implementation could involve both internal and external factors, with the extent of combination depending on the requirements of change implementation. (Grant, 2002, pp. 132-133) The change implementation strategy for the planned establishment of a 2nd hand furniture business involves the combination of internal and external factors. The internal factors refer to top management directives or guidance, consensus building and feedback from senior managers, and feedback from middle managers and employees over issues and solutions emerging from the front line. The external factors include capital infusion from investors, feedback from external consultants, and acquisition of business units. 5. Addressing Resistance Key to the success of the change implementation strategy is the identification and understanding of the factors blocking the implementation of change. Kotter (1996, p. 3) described blocks as the entirety of the hindrances and issues experienced by business firms in the course of implementing change. This requires resolution to ensure the successful implementation of change. An impending block to change implementation is resistance or disagreement, disapproval or opposition to some aspects or all of the planned change. If unaddressed, resistance could lead to delays, accumulation of additional costs or even the failure of change implementation. Resistance finds explanation through the transition curve (Fisher, 2001, n.p.) [See Figure 1 below] that explains the response of parties to the change as a process. Upon learning of the planned change, the affected parties experience anxiety because of concerns over whether they can cope with the change. This could lead to happiness because of the realization that change, which could be anticipated, could happen or denial because of the inability to accept the change. However, this could immediately turn into fear because of concerns over the expectations of their role and the impact on them that could develop into depression when in the stage of uncertainty. This could then lead to two directions. One is towards gradual acceptance and moving forward as the affected parties develop confidence in the change and their roles in the implementation of change. Another is towards hostility and absolute resistance because of the inability to find their place and role in the expected change. Recognizing the adjustment to change as a process implies that business firms should address the fears and threats faced by the parties affected by the change to ensure that the attitudes and behaviors of stakeholders lead to acceptance and moving on. Based on the transition curve, resistance to the planned establishment of a 2nd hand furniture business would likely come managers and employees. The change involved the acquisition of new business units to comprise 50 percent of the business. The different nature of the business means change in existing practices and norms. The change also involves the restructuring of the organization, which means the removal of some positions and creation of new one and the removal or reassignment of people. These situations build fear among managers and employees. The change also involves the hiring of new personnel, which could be perceived as threats by existing employees. Specifically, there could be several sources of resistance to the planned change. One is the concern of employees over the changes in their employment status after the implementation of the change. The initial response to threats on employment status is resistance by fighting against the change to prevent the cancellation of positions and removal of personnel. Another is the concern over possible changes in their tasks if they remain employed with the company after the establishment of the new business. Employees experience security by developing knowledge and skills necessary to accomplish their work effectively. The change requires the accumulation of new knowledge and skills that challenge the security of employees. Still another is the different perspectives of managers and employees towards the purpose and impact of the planned change. The different in opinion could divide support for the change. Last is the adverse perception towards the change because of lack of consultation. The implementation of change without sufficient consultation, based on the perspective of managers and employees, could develop negative regard towards the change. Addressing the problems of resistance that develop in a process could also be through a process that requires strong leadership. Addressing resistance is a three-stage process [See Figure 2 below] that commences with the unfreezing of the present status of the organization, followed by the guided movement towards the new position, and concluding with the freezing of organizational life at the new position. This means top management, with feedback from senior managers, should determine the existing position of the company, articulate the new position, and implement policies or activities that move the organization from the current to the new position. This finds further explanation by the parallel three-step process. The first step is defrosting of the status quo, followed by the taking of actions that usher change, and concluding with the anchoring of the achieved changes using corporate culture. This also highlights the importance of leadership and adds the incorporation of the chan ge in the corporate culture as the means of ensuring that the organization remains at the new position. (Lewin, 1997, pp. 330-334) These three-step processes address resistance in a number of ways. Completing the first step means that the company has identified a rational justification for the change by understanding problems in the present status of the company and developing a vision of the outcome of the required change to address these problems and gain benefits. Implementing the second step requires the identification of activities and processes that encourage the intended behavior or action from all stakeholders. These behaviors and actions comprise movement towards the new position. The application of the third process through activities that secure the comfort and satisfaction of the organization towards change should ensure the stability of the organization in its new position. (Lewin, 1997, pp. 330-334) Specific actions or activities that could help the organization address resistance. First is the establishment of a sense of urgency over the need for change. It is common for people to require a reason for agreeing and participating in change. Leaders or top management has to provide an acceptable justification to expect change from managers and employees. Second is the development of the vision for change and communicating this to the parties affected. People also expect to make changes when they know where they are going. This means that leaders need to clarify where the change would lead the organization to expect managers and employees to understand the importance of their role in the change process and the impact of the change on them. Third is the establishment of a guiding coalition made-up of a team nurturing and supporting the change. The team has to exert influence because of their qualifications and other forms of influence towards managers and employees. Fourth is the em powerment of employees to participate in the change process with confidence. This means that leaders should provide room for the development of ideas on the part of managers and employees. This environment develops flexibility, which supports change. Fifth is the establishment of short-term goals that is realizable in a short period because people are not likely to cooperate in change without seeing positive results, no matter how minute, in the short-term. Sixth is the encouragement of additional changes to secure long-term or sustainable change to take advantage of the momentum of change by encouraging open communication and innovation. Seventh is the reinforcement of change through positive developments in the organization that justifies the better position of the company after the change. (Kotter, 1996, pp. 33-145) 6. Project Evaluation The evaluation of the project constitutes another important aspect of change management. Evaluating the project ensures the resolution of problems as well as the prevention of issues. One project evaluation model is the lifecycle of change management. The implementation of this mode commences with modifications at the model level and then the translation of these changes at the implementation level. This minimizes rework at the implementation level while at the same time developing a model for use in the assessment of the outcomes of change implementation. (Singh Shoura, 2006, p. 25) Simulation is a means of considering possible modification at the model level. In application to the establishment of a 2nd hand furniture business, simulation could apply to the assessment of different modes of mergers and acquisitions to determine the best means of achieving the desired change. The selected option is subject to implementation and expected outcomes, based on the model as the point of r eference. Another situation implementing the lifecycle model is the consideration of the role of leadership in the change implementation process. Ideally, leadership should develop the vision for change and guide movement towards the change through activities that comprise the change such as the assumption of new tasks by managers and employees. This ideal serves as the means of evaluating the role of leadership in actual practice. Managers should also facilitate consultations and feedback sharing within and across the different levels of the organization. This ideal comprises the point of reference in assessing the role of managers in the change process. Overall, the intention of the lifecycle model of change is that the organization should remain operational after the implementation of change but placed at a better position compared to the previous state before the change. The comparison of the difference between the old and present status in terms of strategic objectives tells so mething about the merit of the change and the effectiveness of the change implementation strategy. (Singh Shoura, 2006, p. 25) 7. Conclusion Change management is important in achieving strategic objectives. There are a number of elements for consideration in implementing change management. One is the clarification of the change by determining the problem or issue underlying the planned change. This is important to rationalize and justify the change. Another is the assessment of the change by weighing the forces that persuade and dissuade the change. The persuading factors should outweigh the dissuading factors to support the change. Still another is the identification of the stakeholders or the parties affected by the change together with the interests for purposes of the prioritization of interests in case of conflict. The development of the change implementation plan is also important because this determines the activities comprising change and the role of the parties in achieving the change. Understanding the blocks to change, particularly resistance is also important to ensure a smooth change process. Lastly, designin g a project evaluation is also an important element because this determines the extent of achievement of the change and areas for improvement in the course of implementation.

Concept of Risk in Construction Industry

Concept of Risk in Construction Industry 3.1 General risks The meaning of risk changes when time goes on and the meanings differ when they are at the specific socio-cultural and historical contexts which we are located in. (Deborah Lupton, 1999) Risk is exposure to the possibility of economic or financial loss or gain, physical damage or injury, or delay, as a consequence of the uncertainty associated with pursuing a particular course of action (Cooper, Chapman, 1987). According to Cornelius Keating, risk is not the present problem which should be immediately addressed, but it is considered as future issues that can be avoided or mitigated. Risk is considered as a situation which may lead to negative consequences. Generally, six major categories of risk can be identified as the most important concerns for the majority. They are: Environmental risks, including pollution, radiation, chemicals, floods, fires, dangerous road conditions and so on; Lifestyle risks, which related to the consumption of such commodities as food and drugs, engagement in sexual activities, driving practices, stress, leisure and so on; Medical risks, which related to experiencing medical care or treatment. Such as drug therapy, surgery, childbirth, reproductive technologies and diagnostic tests; Interpersonal risks, related to intimate relationships, social interactions, love sexuality, gender roles, friendship, marriage and parenting; Economic risks implicated in unemployment or under-employment, borrowing money, investment bankruptcy, destruction of property, failure of a business and so on; and Criminal risks are those risks emerging from being a participant in or potential victim of illegal activities.(Deborah Lupton, 1999) 3.2 Risks in Construction Industry 3.2.1 The Concept of Risk in Construction Industry The construction industry experienced a wide variety of risks which may occur in financing, designing, constructing and managing facilities of a project. There are different definitions of risk in construction industry. In order to understand the process of risk management, it is important to understand the basic concept of risk in all aspects. The international standard à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Project risk management à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" Application guidelinesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? holds the theory of probability and consequence and defines risk as a combination of probability of an event which is occurring and its consequences to project objectives (IEC 2001). Ward and Chapman (2003) have made a broader definition of risk and suggest using a more general concept of uncertainty. They argue that risk is considered as threats but not opportunities and when it occurs it affects the project performance. Edwards (1995) points out that risks have a negative impact on the projectà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s cost, qual ity or time in most situations. These definitions have a common feature: they define risk in terms of uncertain events and may have positive or negative impact on a projectà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s objectives. According to An (2010), risk interpretations can be considered as the following: The same as the word hazard The consequence of an unwelcome outcome or failure Chances of achieving a given outcome Signifies danger Taking a chance in an activity An (2010) argues the term risk can be defined in the two components: the probability of occurrence of the risk and the magnitude of the consequences if the risk happened. And the relationship is written in the formula: Risk = consequences x probability. The general trend of risks is shown in the figure 3.1 below. When the probability of occurrence is high, the consequences of risks seem to be low and vice versa. Risks with major or severity consequences rarely happen, but risks which are or have low consequences tend to happen frequently. Figure 3.1: Consequences versus probability trend (An, 2010) As mentioned above, the equation seems to be simple, however, the most important thing is to understand and calculate the probability of occurrence and the severity of consequences and express those using numbers. 3.2.2 Risk Classification Project risks can be categorized in a number of ways by considering the level of detail or a selected viewpoint. (Anna Klemetti, 2006) Categorizing risks will do help in identifying risks. According to the study of National Economic Development Office, construction risks can be broadly grouped in the following categories: Technical Risks include poor design, inadequate site investigation, and uncertainty over the source and availability of materials and appropriateness of specifications. Logistical Risks include availability of resources such as construction equipments, spare parts, fuel and labour and availability of sufficient transportation facilities. Construction Risks include uncertain productivity of resources, weather or seasonal implications and industrial relations problems. Financial Risks include inflation, availability and fluctuation of foreign exchange, delay in payment, repatriation of funds and local taxes. Political Risks include constraints on the availability and employment of expatriate staff, customs and import restrictions and procedures, difficulties in disposing of plant and equipment and insistence on using of local firms and agents. Both Smith (2006) and An (2010) argue that all project risks can be divided into three main categories: known risks, known unknowns and unknown unknowns. The difference between the categories is the decreasing ability to predict or foresee the risks. Table 3.1 presents a brief explanation about these three categories of risks. Table 3.1 Categories of risks (An, 2010) Known risks Including minor variations in productivity and swings in material costs. These occur frequently and are an inevitable feature of all construction projects. Known unknowns Including the risk events whose occurrence is predictable. Either their probability of occurrence or their likely effect is known. Unknown unknowns Those events whose probability of occurrence or their likely effect is unknown. Risk resources can also be divided into four elements: trivial, expected, hazard and risk management. Events with a low impact are not serious and can be divided into the elements of trivial and expected. For the high impact and low probability, these events are hazards which might occur but are too remote to be considered. (An, 2010)Taking into consideration of the probability of the occurrence and the consequence for project objectives, those events that have high probability and high impact are subjected to risk management. Figure 3.2 shows the classification of risk resources. Figure 3.2 Classification of risk sources (Smith, 2006) The causes of risk are various and depending on the size, complexity, novelty, location of the project as well as on the speed of construction and political or commercial plan. Long-term projects are thought to be more risky because the possibility of something going wrong is bigger to appear and the need for immediate plans of action that allow change is fundamental. The sources of risk are presented in Table 3.2. Table 3.2: Sources of risk (Thompson, Perry, 1992) Source Example Client, Government, regulatory agencies Bureaucratic delays, changes in local regulations Funding, fiscal Changes in government funding policy, liaison between several funders Definition of project Change in project scope Project organisation Authority of project manager, involvement of outside bodies Design Adequacy to meet need, realism of design programme Local conditions Local customs, weather windows Permanent plant supply Degree of novelty, damage or loss during transportation Construction contractors Experience, financial stability Construction materials Excessive wastage, quality, delivery Construction labour Industrial relations, multi-racial labour force Construction plant Resale value, spares availability Logistics Remoteness, access to site Estimating data Relevance to specific project availability Inflation Exchange rates Force majeure It is important to use the table as the first step in risk assessment process in order to identify all the relevant risks of the construction project. By identifying all the construction risks in the early stage of risk assessment process, successful risk management can be achieved. Failing to identify risks in the risk identification stage is a hazard to the risk management process. (Perry and Thompson, 1992) Moreover, risks can be classified based on the ability of the project to control them. A separation of risk as a local, global and extreme is based on the controlling ability of project parties on risks. As a result, this method helps to identify 80% of the risk, the last may not be worthwhile looking for, and a few of these risks could not be reasonably foreseen. (Smith, 2006) Figure 3.3 shows the hierarchy of identified risks. Figure3.3: Hierarchy of identified risks (Smith, 2006) Project parties have to manage the manageable risks by the settled frame and prepare to accept the challenges of the unmanageable risks. The preparation can reduce the losses caused by the unmanageable risks. Besides, some global risks can be reduced for sure. Categorization of risks would definitely help to identify risks. No matter what method is used to identify the risks, it is important that risks should be identified and assessed carefully, which is even more important in the early stages of the project since it will affect the decision making of the project participants. 3.2.3 Importance of Risk Management in the Construction Industry Change is inherent in construction work. When an uncertain event occurs, it will impact some of objectives such as the cost, schedule, and quality of the project. Construction projects often have a poor performance due to a lack of reasonable risk management process. (Liu Renhu, 2005) Many projects fail to meet deadline or cost and quality targets. As a result, risk management becomes an important part of construction management. Risk management intends to identify and manage those potential and unforeseen problems that might probably occur during the project implementation. And also, it tries to identify as many risk event as possible minimize their impact on the project, manage the responses to those events that are probably to materialize, and provide contingence funds to cover risk event that actually materialize. The essential purpose of risk management is to improve project performance via systematic identification, appraisal and management of project related risks. The focus o n reducing threats or adverse outcomes, which we might call downside risk, misses a key part of the overall picture. (Chapman, Ward, 2003) Changes cannot be eliminated, however, by applying risk management in project construction participates are able to improve the construction management. The benefit of risk management can be concluded as follows: Project issues are clarified, understood and considered from start; Decisions are supported by thorough analysis; The definition and structure of the project are continually monitored; Clear understanding of specific risks associated with a project; Build-up of historical data to assist future risk management procedures. (An, 2010) 3.2.4 Project Planning The control of time cannot be affected insulation from resources and costs. Project planning methods should consider the communication with all the parties in a project in order to identify sequences of activates and draw attention to potential problem areas. Careful and continuous planning contributes to successful construction project. Sequences of activities will be defined and linked to a time-scale to ensure that priorities are identified and efficient use of expensive or scare resources. However, since the uncertainty occurs during construction, the plan will always change and it must be updated quickly and regularly in order to maintain the most efficient way of completing the project. In developing a controlling plan, it is vital to distinguish between different categories of change and to fully instigate the formal aspect of the project. (An, 2010) All the parties and resources involved in construction have influences on project plan. However, project plan will change when uncertainty occurs. The purpose of planning is to persuade people to perform tasks before they delay. A framework of decision making in case of change occurs should be included in project planning. (Smith, 2006) 3.3 Risk Management in the Construction Industry 3.3.1 Risk Management strategy Both client and contractor are concerned about the projectà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s risk allocation. Generally, the client or the project owner has an overall risk management strategy and policy included in the strategic documents and quality management system. Risk management strategy is shown in figure 3.4. Management of project risk Figure 3.4 Risk Management Strategy (Smith, 2006) The most important issues which the project owner concerned in risk strategy are risk ownership and risk financing. Risk ownership is explained as which party owns the risks and risks expose and transfer. Risk financing can be explained as how to include and use budget of risk allowance or contingency. The participants make decisions, which affect the responsibilities of the parties, to define the organization and procedures of a project. (An, 2010) It influences the construction, commissioning, change and risk of a project and this is how it affects the construction processes. (Smith, 2006) 3.3.2 Process of Risk Management 3.3.2.1 Introduction Risk management is one of the most critical project management practices to ensure a project is successfully completed. (Chapman, 1997) The goal of risk management in construction industry can be stated as following: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“To be competitive in meeting the clients specifications with solutions that are cost-effective at an acceptable level of riskà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ (An, 2010). To successfully achieve the goals in any projects, the following four aspects need to be met: Competitiveness Specification Cost-effective Risks It is important to consider the four criteria as a whole. There are two major objectives managing risk: one is to avoid the downside risks and the other is to exploit opportunities. Risk management is a process of defining the need for identifying, estimating and evaluating risks in order to control them at an acceptable level. (An, 2010) The risk management system is shown is figure 3.5. Figure 3.5 risk management frame work (An, 2010) Four aspects are involved in risk management, which are hazard identification, risk assessment, risk reduce or risk response and emergency preparedness. These will be introduced in the following paragraphs. 3.3.4.2 Hazard Identification Hazard identification is the first step of the risk management process. It is aimed at determining potential risks which may affect the project. Ideally, all the potential risks and hazards should be identified when the decision is being made so that the participants can deal with before they occur. However, although prevention is better than cure, no risk management system can identify all the risks and hazards in advance. (Martin Loosemore, 2006) In this way, hazard identification needs to be carried out carefully in order to reduce the potential risks in the project. As the first step of risk analysis, hazard identification is the most important one as it helps to identify the potential risks whose effects act as an impediment to the project, and this process will also help with risk mitigation and control. A general definition of hazard is stated as following: A hazard is an undesirable outcome in the process of meeting ant objective, performing a task or engaging in an activity (An, 2010). The undesirable outcome of a hazard could involve: Injury to personnel Damage to property Pollution to the environment and A combination of all the above (An, 2010) Risk identification is one of the most important steps of risk management because it makes the risks clearer. As a result, Chapman (2001) points out that the success of later risk management phases is directly affected by the quality of the identification phase. Risk identification procedure identifies and categorizes risks that could affect the project. This procedure includes discovering, defining, describing, documenting and communicating risks before they become problems and affect a project. (Barati, S.,  Mohammadi, S., 2008) Risk identification is a tool for identifying all the significant sources and causes of risk and hazards in a project. Numbers of methods and techniques are used in identifying the project risks (IEC 2001), including brainstorming, expert opinion, structured interviews, questionnaires, checklists, historical data, previous experience, testing and modelling and evaluating other projects. Perry (1992) points out the most popular methods of hazard identification. They are: Checklists prepared by experienced people that are involved in the project. Brainstorming sessions where groups of people are trying to come up with potential risks through conversation and exchange of ideas. Historical data of previous similar projects that can assist in the portraying of risks. Interviews of key participants of the project or experts involved with it. These techniques are to provide a systematic approach for identifying potential hazards in construction industry. (An, 2010) Empirical studies of risk management practice (Lyons, Skitmoreà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã…’2004) show that the checklists and brainstorming are the most useful techniques in risk identification. And they also point out that risk identification often rely on individual judgments of the project participants. Another method applied for the identifying risk events is the HAZOP study (Hazard and Operability). This is a technique using à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“guide-wordsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? in order to study deviation from the design objective of a project and its elements. (An, 2010) A helpful action would be to group the risks and separate them into specific categories after the first stage of risk identification. This would benefit the risk assessment process by applying a suitable technique to each category and furthermore in the selection of a risk management response for each type. (An, 2010) in construction industry three main types of hazards which need to be taken into account are the followings: Management Hazards: Associated with management and organizational issues, such as policy, commitment of funds for training, and the project of specific equipment and schedules to be met. Commercial Hazards: Arise from commercial considerations, and particularly associated with decisions on spending. A typical example is the selection of a less expensive material that just meets the minimum standard required instead of opting for the more expensive item with huge specification and a track record of high quality. Sometimes a contract is accepted as a cost below the desired level, and savings have to be made in order to complete the work. This in turn may lead to potential hazards due to commercial factors. Time Hazards: Many projects need to be completed by an agreed date. Delays due to the factors such as late delivery of materials, unforeseen production difficulties or failure to meet specification would affect the ability to meet deadline. As a consequence of failure to meet the deadline, it could affect future contracts and disrupt the schedules. All these events can be considered as hazards or time hazards. Each project has different associated hazards, which differ from various technology or organizations or anything else applied in the projects. A checklist of construction hazard drivers is shown: Financial Hazards Legal Hazards Political Hazards Social Hazards Environmental Hazards Communications Hazards Geographical Hazards Geotechnical Hazards Construction Hazards Technological Hazards Demand/product Hazards (An, 2010) After hazard identification, the potential hazards can be listed and grouped. Then, risk assessment method can be applied to build the risk level. 3.3.4.3 Risk Assessment Once risks have been identified, they must then be accessed. The sources of risks should be identified first, and then the effects of the risks should be assessed or analyzed. Risks can be assessed either using a quantitative or qualitative analysis. (Thompson, Perry, 1992) Qualitative Methods: The first step of the qualitative analysis is also the first step of risk assessment risk identification, which is described above as the first step of risk management. Then, an assessment of the probability of occurrence and impact of the risks should be taken out. Qualitative risk assessment usually includes the following issues: A brief description of the risk The stage of the project when it may occur The elements of the project that could be affected The factors that influence its occurrence The relationship with other risks The likelihood of its occurrence How it could affect the project (Smith, 2006) Using qualitative methods is the first step of risk assessment. Then, a quantitative assessment is only for the risks whose further information is required. These risks are usually serious and can jeopardise the project. Quantitative Methods: According to Barrow (2007), there are four reasons why risk should be managed: to minimize delays, to reduce cost, to improve return on investment, to increase the number of opportunity. Possible consequences of risk occurring are defined and qualified in terms of: Increased cost such as additional cost above the estimate of the final cost of the project Increased time such as additional time beyond the completion data of the project through delays in construction Reduced quality and performance such as the extent to which the project would fail to meet the user performance based on quality, standards and specification. (Smith, 2006) Several methods can be used in risk assessment and risk metrics method is going to be introduced. Risk metric is a two-dimensional presentation of likelihood and consequences using qualitative for both dimensions, event modelling is a systematic way to identify accident scenarios and quantify risk. (Ayyub, 2005) Estimating the probability and impact of risk in simple scales, such as from 1 to 5 or from high to low, is the most common way, and boundaries can also be numerically defined. Risk can be characterized by probability and consequence, and examples are given in table 3.3 and table 3.4. Probability of Occurrence Scale Descriptor 1 Rare 2 Unlikely 3 Possible 4 Likely 5 Almost Certain Table 3.3 Probability of Occurrence (An, 2010) Rating of consequences Scale Descriptor 1 Insignificant 2 Minor 3 Moderate 4 Major 5 Severe Table 3.4 Rating of consequences (An, 2010) As mentioned in pervious paragraph, Table 3.5 shows that risks can be allocated in three regions. Table 3.5 Risk Matrix (An, 2010) Consequence Probability 1 2 3 4 5 5 Tolerable Tolerable Intolerable Intolerable Intolerable 4 Negligible Tolerable Tolerable Intolerable Intolerable 3 Negligible Tolerable Tolerable Tolerable Intolerable 2 Negligible Negligible Tolerable Tolerable Intolerable 1 Negligible Negligible Negligible Tolerable Tolerable And this can also be replaced by two curves, as its shown in figure 3.6. Figure 3.6 Graphical presentation of risk regions (An, 2010) During risk assessment, identified risks are evaluated and ranked. The goal is to prioritise risks for management. The assessment of the risks leads the hazards to be classified in a region, which would determine the importance (risk level) of each hazard, and the possible regions are the intolerable, tolerable or the negligible region. Figure 3.7 shows the risks listed in the appropriate regions. Figure 3.7 Output of risk assessment element (An, 2010) The risks are allocated in three regions, after that, the risks should be selected the risk response to them. 3.3.4.4 Risk Response Once the risks are identified and assessed, the next step of the risk management procedure is to response to these risks. The nature of the response depends on the decisions made by the management team. In order to respond correctly, the team has to process the information available for the risk. There are two types of responses to risks: immediate response and contingency response. The immediate response mitigates or eliminates the risks through alterations of the project plan. The nature of contingency response is preparing a plan for an alternative course of action and implementing it when the risk arises. (An, 2010) There are four basic ways of responding to risk and they are risk retention, risk transfer, risk reduction and risk avoidance. In order to effectively manage a risk, it is necessary to adopt a combination of strategies to treat it. The selection process can be iterative until the most effective treatment strategy is developed. (Smith, 2006) Avoidance: Risk avoidance deals with the risks by eliminating the risks through changing the project plan or certain features. Another way of risk avoidance or reduction is re-design or changing the method of construction. (Perry, Hayes, 1985) However, there are only a few situations this response can be used. Reduce: Risk reduction aims at reducing the probability and consequences of a risk event. The measures should be taken with consideration of the value for money. Reducing the level of risks could raise the cost. Only when the value of the reduced risk is beyond the cost it caused, this method can be taken. Risks can be reduced by: Obtaining additional information Performing additional tests/simulations Allocating additional resources Improving communication and managing organisational interfaces(An, 2010) After risk assessment, hazards are allocated in the intolerable, tolerable and negligible regions. There are some guidelines for risk reducing. Hazard in the intolerable region: risks in this level should be eliminated or cost-effective cannot be achieved. As a result, the project should be considered for abandoning. Hazard in the tolerable region: to reduce risks in this region, two aspects should be considered. One is whether the risk is close to the intolerable region, the other one is whether it is a cost-effective reduction process. It is better to reduce the risk no matter how expensive it might cost in dealing with the first situation. For the second consideration, it is better to reduce the risk and checking carefully of its allocation. Hazard in the negligible region: it is recommended that these hazards should be left alone, since they are not worth to reduce. (An, 2010) Transfer: Risk transfer is to transfer risks from one party to another. This would happen between parties in a project or between one party in the project and one outside. (An, 2010) Some contractual obligation can also be used as risk transfer method, because no one is willing to accept a risk without any form of compensation. Generally, it is better to transfer the risks to the parties who can best control them. Acceptance or Retention: If the other methods fail to adequately or fully treat the risk, the project has to be prepared to accept the risk or any residual risk remaining after some initial treatment. The party which is holding a risk may be the only one that can manage the risk or accept the consequences. If the risk is under control of this party, the likelihood of happening or minimise the impact of the risk could be reduced. It is possible for a risk to have a number of potential treatment equally suitable but varying in cost. The selection of a final treatment must be made as cost-effective. The cost of managing the risk should be commensurate with the benefits obtained. The risk response process is directed at identifying a way of dealing with the identified and assessed project risks. Risk reduction is the most frequently used technique within the construction industry. Managing the risks of a project is a rather difficult task. Choosing any form of treatment may itself expose the project to additional risks. In this way, attention should be paid to ensure that the treatment strategy does not expose the project to greater risk than what the original risk was designed to treat. 3.3.4.5 Emergency Preparedness Even when the pervious risk management processes have been well applied, accidents happen occasionally. The goal of emergency preparedness can be concluded as the following: To be prepared to take the most appropriate action in the event that hazard becomes a reality so as to minimise its effects and, if necessary, to transfer personal from a location with a higher level to one with a lower risk level. (An, 2010) Regarding the management of risk, an emergency preparedness is the preparation of contingency plans and courses of action in case the risk arises during construction. The emergency preparedness could also be an alternative course of action prepared as a contingency plan. 3.4 Conclusion Risk management intends to identify and manage those potential and unforeseen problems that might probably occur during the project implementation. And it could identify as many risk event as possible, minimize their impact to the project, manage the responses to those events that are probably to materialize, and provide contingence funds to cover risk event that actually materialize. Precaution is better than cure. The same principle can be applied to risk management which should be a proactive approach rather than a reactive one. Risk management is a preventive process to ensure that negative impacts are reduced and that harmful consequences associated with undesirable events are minimized. Generally, the risk management process should include: risk identification, risk assessments, risk response and emergency preparedness. Once risk has been identified, they must then be accessed on their potential severity of loss and the probability of occurrence. Then through the following stag es such as risk avoidance, reduction, retention or risk transfer, the risks can be dealt with and its impact can be decreased to a certain extent.