Free Essays on Equality

Equality: Why We Can’t Get There Racial and economic equality in the United States is impossible. Starting with slavery, moving to Jim Crow and culminating with hate crimes and racial profiling, there has been a continuous stream of factors preventing the realization of an equal American society. While it is true that great strides have been made to correct the social and political inaccuracies, the harsh reality is that all these attempts are futile. Practices such as affirmative action and equal opportunity programs, are effective at leveling the playing field, however, they will never be able to make it completely equal. White privilege and its social consequences represent one of the main reasons why equality is unattainable. Ideally, the destruction of white privilege and the belief systems that support it could result in the formation of an equal nation. However, human beings have no available means to destroy this demon, and hope exists only in the attempts at minimizing the damage to our country. Furth ermore, natural inclinations towards competition make inequality unavoidable. White privilege is a system that amasses to whites' greater wealth and resources. It also lends them access to a higher quality of justice, services, and capital than other racial groups. Simultaneously, white privilege has resulted in impoverishment and injustice for the vast majority of racial minorities. White privilege is more than a set of attitudes or individual opinions; it is a comprehensive framework of policies, practices, institutions, and cultural norms that influence every aspect of American society. Being white constitutes a powerful asset in the United States and globally. Using William Ryan’s theories on equality, white privilege represents a major discrepancy in his â€Å"Fair Play† perspective. If, as he sees it, individuals are all afforded the same rights with regard to â€Å"pursuing happiness,† then it is inevitabl... Free Essays on Equality Free Essays on Equality Is the promotion of equality by political means either desirable or possible? Throughout history the issue of equality among individuals has been a divisive and controversial topic. Many individuals have lost their lives in an attempt to secure equality for themselves and their family. Once considered a radical and extreme political view, today equality is generally accepted by the masses as necessary component to a free and fair society. In contemporary times the problems with equality arise in its application and the government’s role in the promotion of equality. Coupled with the three different forms of equality and it is easy to see why the issue of equality continues to be heavily debated by political leaders. In order to accurately understand contemporary discussions about the application of equality by political means we must first identify the three forms of equality. Formal equality, equality of opportunity, and equality of outcome are the three forms of equality that dominate modern debate. Formal equality centers around the belief that men are equal simply because they are men. Equality of opportunity is the equal starting point for individuals. Equality of opportunity is more concerned with the initial conditions of individuals than their final standing in society. Lastly, equality of outcome attempts to determine outcomes so that everybody’s status is equal. Many have argued that equality is such a vital element of society that it is necessary for the government to become involved the promotion of equality. With formal equality it is a difficult task for formal equality to be promoted my political means. Formal equality is based on inalienable rights that are given to every human being. I question how effective politics can be in promoting a form of equality that is so limited by its own definition. I suppose one may argue that the constitution of a state could be one way to promote formal equalit... Free Essays on Equality Equality: Why We Can’t Get There Racial and economic equality in the United States is impossible. Starting with slavery, moving to Jim Crow and culminating with hate crimes and racial profiling, there has been a continuous stream of factors preventing the realization of an equal American society. While it is true that great strides have been made to correct the social and political inaccuracies, the harsh reality is that all these attempts are futile. Practices such as affirmative action and equal opportunity programs, are effective at leveling the playing field, however, they will never be able to make it completely equal. White privilege and its social consequences represent one of the main reasons why equality is unattainable. Ideally, the destruction of white privilege and the belief systems that support it could result in the formation of an equal nation. However, human beings have no available means to destroy this demon, and hope exists only in the attempts at minimizing the damage to our country. Furth ermore, natural inclinations towards competition make inequality unavoidable. White privilege is a system that amasses to whites' greater wealth and resources. It also lends them access to a higher quality of justice, services, and capital than other racial groups. Simultaneously, white privilege has resulted in impoverishment and injustice for the vast majority of racial minorities. White privilege is more than a set of attitudes or individual opinions; it is a comprehensive framework of policies, practices, institutions, and cultural norms that influence every aspect of American society. Being white constitutes a powerful asset in the United States and globally. Using William Ryan’s theories on equality, white privilege represents a major discrepancy in his â€Å"Fair Play† perspective. If, as he sees it, individuals are all afforded the same rights with regard to â€Å"pursuing happiness,† then it is inevitabl... Free Essays on Equality Throughout time, we, as humans, have come up with a myriad of ways to discriminate against one another. As we go along we find something we don’t like about a certain group of individuals, we segregate them and shun them publicly, then after a while someone disagrees with what is happening, and eventually we slowly change our laws to accept and protect this group. Race, skin color, religious beliefs, economical status, national origin, people with disabilities, all different ways we have originally thought were things to spurn and reject, and then decide to make our equals. Most recently, homosexuality has become yet another way for us to discriminate. Can we see a trend forming? The current matter at hand is whether gays should be allowed to be married and have the same rights and privileges as a heterosexual married couple. â€Å"Under a 1996 law, the federal government does not recognize gay marriages,† (MSNBC). Though this is federal law, changes can be made by individual states. The state of Vermont has made a law that recognizes same-sex civil unions. â€Å"The key difference between civil unions and marriage is that benefits from civil unions would stop at the Massachusetts border while rights from marriage would extend across the country - giving gay couples equality under federal laws for taxes, health and retirement benefits, among other areas,† (MSNBC). On Tuesday, the highest court in the state of Massachusetts ruled that same-sex couples are allowed to wed, but would not issue them a marriage license. â€Å"The Supreme Judicial Court’s 4-3 ruling ordered the Legislature to come up with a solution within 180 days,† (M SNBC). It seems when you are being discriminated against, everywhere you turn, and one thing just lead to another and you really can’t get anywhere. It turns out that only in some states it is illegal to reject a couple for housing if they cannot provide a marriage license. This is not a law that was cr...

Supercharge your resume in 30 minutes or less

Supercharge your resume in 30 minutes or less Okay, so you already know you should spend lots of quality time honing your resume, lovingly crafting the masterpiece that will get you your next job. Resumes benefit from time and editing. But reality doesn’t always give us the time we’d like, and sometimes you need to produce a great resume on short notice. Maybe it’s been a while since you updated and an awesome new job opening has popped up, or maybe someone in your network has mentioned that hey, there’s this new job that would be perfect for you- can you submit you resume today? Whatever the time crunch is, it means you have to produce something solid without much notice. So what do you do when you want to spruce up your resume but you don’t have much time at all? Don’t panic†¦it’s doable! Let’s walk through some of the best things you can do to supercharge your resume in no time flat.Choose a format- and stick to it.If you had more time, you could play with different formats and see what works best for your skills and experience. No time for that today, so choose your path quickly.If you have a lot of work experience in your field: Go with the traditional reverse-chronological format, where you put your work experience section prominently up front and work backwards through your jobs.Here’s an example of how your resume can look if you want your experience to be the most prominent feature:Jenny Smith21 Jump StreetEvanston, IL 12121JSmith45@emaildomain.comExperienced Store ManagerQUALIFICATIONS SUMMARYStore manager with more than 10 years experience.Creative, innovative team leader with proven results.Exceeded sales goals by more than 15%, three years in a row.WORK EXPERIENCEBig Box Store ‘R Us, 2013 – presentStore ManagerManage a busy Chicago branch of a national department store chain.Lead a team of 60+ employees.Improved in-store sales by 10% in 2017, 9% in 2016, and 8.5% in 2015.In this example, Jenny goes straight for t he emphasis on her work history, and her results.If you are inexperienced, or just starting out in the field: Go with a skills-based format, where you lead right into a skills summary that relates directly to the job you’re applying for.Here’s an example of how your resume can look if you want your experience to be the most prominent feature:Kai Burns1 Main StreetLos Angeles, CA 12312KaiBurns@emaildomain.comDisciplined, enthusiastic recent grad seeking a marketing role at X Corp.SKILLS SUMMARYSocial media expertise (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook)Demonstrated leadership on team projectsStrong written and verbal communication skillsIn this example, Kai leads with her skills, because she’s a recent grad and doesn’t yet have a ton of work experience or concrete professional results she can call out.Don’t reinvent the wheel.You’ve only got 30 minutes, so unless you’re really attached to the idea of creating a resume from scratch at breaknec k speed, work with something that already exists. That may be your current resume, but if it’s really outdated or not great then there are lots of pre-existing templates where you can drop in your information and go from there. Using a resume library template can be a major time-saver, especially when you’ve only got a few minutes.Focus on the short, sweet elements.You don’t have a lot of time to pore over your experience bullets, but you can spend your time making sure that some of the shorter, punchier parts of the resume are in good shape. For example, make sure you have an effective, attention-grabbing headline. Your headline helps you set the narrative yourself. And this is where having less time can work in your favor: you want to focus on the most important, relevant parts of yourself as an applicant for this particular job, without overthinking it too much.Similarly, a good summary can help you really focus on your most important strengths as a candidate and what you want to say in your resume.Use bold action words.You want your supercharged resume to be potent, not wordy, so it’s all about the word choice. Instead of using long bullet points to develop a point, use a targeted action verb to get the point across faster. It’s not only more effective, but also cuts down on your writing and editing time. Some examples of strong action verbs that look good on your resume:ChairedCoordinatedExecutedHeadedImplementedMaximizedOperatedOrchestratedOrganizedOutperformedOverhauledOversawPlannedProducedRedesignedStreamlinedSaying more by taking up less space is something you can do pretty quickly that has a big impact on the quality of your resume. You’re using your limited time to make sure that parts of your resume pop instead of using the same old verbs that pass unnoticed as a reader skims your resume.For more on how to punch up your verbs:5 Action Verbs That Will Energize Your ResumeHow to Create a Resume Packed with A ction WordsPowerful Action Verbs That Will Make Your Resume Look Like a Million BucksDon’t skimp on editing.The final proofread can be the first thing to go when you’re in a rush. It’s done, it needs to be out the door†¦it’s probably fine, right? Not so fast. If you’re only taking half an hour with your resume, make sure you slot five minutes at the end to do a careful read of the final doc before you hit send. Ideally, you’d have someone else look at it to make sure everything reads well and there are no glaring errors, but if you truly don’t have enough time to do that, use your own critical eye. You may only have half an hour to work on your resume, but you don’t want your resume to look like it.Make it look nice.Again, since you don’t have time for the deep resume dive, focus on as many of the aesthetics as you can. Is your layout clean and easy to read? Are there blocks of uninterrupted text that could be broke n into reader-friendly chunks? Is your resume free of odd formatting that might not work on a computer or device screen? A quick pass to make sure your resume looks appealing should be one of the last things you do before you send.Whether you’ve got 30 minutes or 300, you want to put out the best resume possible. After all, it can be your first step to a new job, and you want to make sure you’re presenting yourself in the best possible way. If you’re crunched for time, it’s important to accept that you don’t have time to finesse every detail- but you do have time to pick the most important points and shine them up so the reader never knows you had such a tight timeline.

Eliminating redundancy at Lion using Business Intelligence Platform Essay

Eliminating redundancy at Lion using Business Intelligence Platform - Essay Example In the report, the researcher has discussed about the Kirini, a Japanese based brewery company which has been brewing beer since its inception in 1888. Lion Nathan Ltd in Australia is wholly owned by subsidiary of Kirin after the merger. According to information obtained from its official website, Lion is a leading beverage and food company with a portfolio that includes many of Australia and New Zealand’s favourite brands. It was formed in 2009 under the name ‘Lion Nathan National Foods,’ but the name later changed to Lion when Kirin Holdings Company Limited completed its purchase of Lion Nathan and merged the business with National Foods in 2009 and it has owned this business since 2007. These companies before and after the merger belonged to the national economies of their host countries. The researcher posits to the effect that Lion employs close to 8,000 people across Australia and New Zealand and it boasts of a portfolio of market-leading, household-name bra nds in beer, spirits, wine, milk, fresh dairy foods, juice, cheese and soy beverages. The company has significantly contributed to the Australian and New Zealand economies. However, the problem emanates from the view that the merger acquisition by Kirin of Lion which is Australian based company may cause redundancy and problems in operation support services. As a result, the redundancy can lead to an increase in the operation costs if the problem is not fixed and this is likely to affect the company. If the problem not fix, explain why it will affect the company. Of notable concern is the factor that there are also competitors in the food and beverage industry where Lion operates and Heineken is the greatest competitor. In order to address the problem raised above, the initiative change is primarily concerned with reviewing the computer system used by the organisations before and after the merger to establish the changes required to turn around the fortunes of the organisation. In t his case, it is proposed that when solving this problem, a business intelligence Platform (real time) can be used to reduce the operational costs after the merger so as to improve the organisation’s productivity in order to gain a competitive advantage over the other rival competitors in the same industry. BIP is a computer based support system used in the decision making process and is based on factual data. According to Gartner (2007), BIP is comprised of mainly three categories namely information delivery (workflow and collaboration) as well as analysis. All information about the operations of the organisation is gathered and computed in detail where it is established if there is any area that may need change to ensure effective operation of the organisation. However, these two organisations have been using different systems where the BIP model was alien to Lion Nathan before the merger. The issues raised above are very important and they are likely to affect the company i f change is not done given that before the major, these two companies used different BI platforms which can pose a challenge to the merged company. In order to analyse the current performance of Lion, it will be imperative to carry out a financial analysis of the company in order to draw a comparison with its previous performance levels. Analysis of the current situation Lion is a company which operates in the food and beverages sector in Australia and it is a public company with various shareholders. The company is listed on the Australian stock exchange and all the data in the financial statements from 2009 to 2010 is quoted in Australian dollars. All the data used in the financial analysis for the company below has been retrieved from the company’s official website (http://www.lionco.com/2011/02/10/lion-nathan-national-foods-fy10-result/, 2010/11). The analysis of the organisation is mainly based on the following three important aspects namely expenses, revenue, net profit as well as return on investment for the three year period under survey. The financial analy

Customer Care & Front Office Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5500 words

Customer Care & Front Office - Essay Example This essay describes different care policies, that provide guidelines against which any hotel employee may measure his or her performance in caring for customers. It insures continuity of quality between visits by the same customers and also across various other hotels owned by the same company and over time. The researcher states that word of mouth is the best advertisement any hotel can hope for, and it costs nothing. By having a set of policies to follow, the company helps employees to remember everything which will make customers feel welcome and valued. Without established policies for customer care, there is room for variance in the quality of that care. Different people, even with training, may not habitually treat the customer with the same quality of care. The researcher then describes different communication types and how these are identified and use to best effect and describes the different types of customers who are likely to pass through a hospitality outlet and their d iffering and specific requirements. The researcher of the essay summarizes the sequence and various stages of the customer cycle and the procedures which occur at each stage. This essay also explains the various financial procedures which occur at various stages of the customer cycle, that begins with first contact with the customer when inquiries are made. In the end, the researcher explains the legal requirements, which may possibly affect the interaction of the guest with staff and uses some examples to present them.

Causes of Construction Delays

Causes of Construction Delays This chapter gives an idea of what construction delays are, how are they defined and what are their types and comparison of them. Delays can be seen differently from different point of views. Causes of delays and categorization of them in various international contexts are also discussed. 2.2 DEFINING CONSTRUCTION DELAY A lot of work has been done before on construction delays and every author came up with his/her own definition. Assaf and Hejji defined delay as Time overrun either beyond completion date specified in a contract, or beyond the date that the parties agreed upon for delivery of a project slipping over its planned schedule. (Assaf, Hejji, 2006) Stumpf defined delay as Act or event that extends the time required to perform a task under a contract. It usually shows up as additional days of work or as delayed start of an activity. (Stumpf, 2000). And many similar definitions were given. Therefore construction delays can be considered as time lag in completion of activities from a fixed time as per contract or they can be defined as late completion or late start of activities to the planned schedule or contract schedule. When project delay occurs it means project cannot be completed within stated time, which means there will be extensions of time required which will further result in fine, increased cost due to inflation, termination of contract, court cases etc. or combinations of above stated factors. Delay can be seen as risk for the project and could be handled at inception stage or at least one can try to mitigate or minimize it. Risk is an integral part of a construction project; it is well known that no project is risk free. If risk is analysed at inception or planning stage it could be managed, minimized, shared, mitigated or accepted to give some good results. Delay can be considered similar to risk or a type of risk; as no construction project is free from delays, delay is also integrated part of construction projects. It depends on size of project as well. Therefore it is expected to analyse and manage delay in same fashion as risk. Delays are often result of a mismanaged event which must have been managed in a systematic process so as to analyse the effect of that event on the project and how to minimize chances of further delay. (Keane, Caletka, 2008). 2.3 CATEGORIZATION AND TYPES OF CONSTRUCTION DELAYS Before getting on types of various construction delays there is a major categorisation which is required to be understood. Construction delays can be delayed in some major groups as listed below. El-Saadi (1998) categorized delay in four major groups. Critical or Non critical Excusable or Non Excusable Compensable or Non Compensable Concurrent or Non concurrent Alkaas S., Mazerolle M. and Harris F. (1996) and Ahmed S.M. et al gave following categorizations: Excusable Delays Excusable compensable delays Excusable noncompensable delays Nonexcusable delays Concurrent delays Fig. 2.1 Classification of delay based on their various attributes. Nuhu Braimah (2008) To achieve objectives of this dissertation and to consider delay as risk it is necessary to know about these types of delays and as per categorization in what category they lie. This basic knowledge helps in moving forward and determining strategies to mitigate these risks. Now in this part we will discuss these types of delay in detail: 2.3.1 CRITICAL AND NON CRITICAL In simple words Critical delays are those which cause delay to entire project completion date while Non critical delays not necessarily affect the project completion date but affects progress. In all the projects delays are considered at the project completion date. Delays can be combination of small and big delays that occurred during the whole project. Therefore critical delays are taken more into consideration then noncritical delays. 2.3.2 EXCUSABLE DELAYS Excusable Delays occurs due to events which are outside the control of contractor like heavy rains, storms, strikes, fire, client suggested changes, differing site conditions, change of government policy or their intervention, stakeholder intervention etc. Alkass S. et al (1996) says that when there are excusable delays, contractor is entitled to time extension in case date of completion is extended. Such delays can also affect non critical activities which must be considered with more detailed analysis or adjustment of float time. Excusable delays can be further classified in compensable and noncompensable delays. 2.3.2.1 EXCUSABLE COMPENSABLE DELAYS As name suggests excusable compensable delays are those in which contractor is entitled for extra payment (compensation) i.e. monetary compensation and time extension as well. But decision that a delay is compensable or noncompensable is taken as per contract between client and contractor. Natural disasters or some reasons which are out of control are not considered. Example of such delay could be that client doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t allow access to site even after notice to proceed is given; other such delays which are due to client are compensable. 2.3.2.2 EXCUSABLE NONCOMPENSABLE DELAYS Such delays are such where both contractor and client are not responsible for delay. Under such circumstances only time extensions are granted and no monetary compensation is provided. Such delays include act of God. 2.3.3 NON EXCUSABLE DELAYS As name suggests these delays are such that they donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t have any excuse or no excuse can be given for them. They arise due to carelessness or actions and inactions of contractors and subcontractors. For such delays no time extensions and monetary compensation is given to contractor if it has affected whole duration of project. In such cases client is liable to get liquidated damages. Example of such delay could be constructing something wrong which is not given in drawings, not completing work on time, improper resource allocation etc. 2.3.4 CONCURRENT DELAYS This is the most complex categorization of delay as it consists of two or more kind of delays regardless of their type which occurs at same time or overlaps some duration together. It is necessary to find out what type has caused overall delay in project completion. Therefore different factors like time of occurrence of delay, duration of delay, impact of them, float ownership etc. have to be considered carefully. Alkass et al (1996) said that; Concurrent delays which contains two or more excusable delays results in time extension. When compensable and nonexcusable delays are concurrent a time extension can be given or delay can be distributed between client and contractor. 2.4 CAUSES OF CONSTRUCTION DELAYS In section 2.3, categorisation of delays was discussed. Now in this section will deal with causes of delays. Lot of work has been done on understanding causes of delays. The two major categorization of delay causes one is Internal Cause another is External Cause. Internal cause includes delays caused by parties involved in construction project like Client, Contractor, Designer, Consultant these are four major parties then Subcontractors, material suppliers etc. comes. From external factors it includes act of God, strikes, stakeholderà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s dissatisfaction etc. Assaf and Hejji (2006) reflected various causes of delays which occur in large construction projects. They had a field survey of 23 contractors, 19 consultants, and 15 owners and found out and reflected on 73 causes of delays under eight different groups. All those 73 factors are given in table below. NO. CAUSES OF DELAY GROUP 1 Original contract duration is too short. Project 2 Legal disputes b/w various parties. Project 3 Inadequate definition of substantial completion. Project 4 In effective delay penalties. Project 5 Type of construction contracts. Project 6 Type of project bidding and award Project 7 Delay in progress payment by owner. Owner 8 Delay to furnish and deliver the site to contractor by the owner. Owner 9 Change orders by owner during construction. Owner 10 Late in revising and approving design documents by owner Owner 11 Delay in approving shop drawings and sample materials Owner 12 Poor communication and co-ordination by owner and other parties Owner 13 Slowness is decision making process by owner Owner 14 Conflicts between joint ownership of the project Owner 15 Unavailability of incentives for contractors for finishing ahead of schedule Owner 16 Suspension of work by owner Owner 17 Difficulties in financing project by contractor. Contractor 18 Conflicts in subcontractors schedule in execution of project Contractor 19 Rework due to errors during construction. Contractor 20 Poor site management and supervision by contractor Contractor 21 Poor communication and co-ordination by contractor with other parties Contractor 22 Ineffective planning and scheduling of project by contractor Contractor 23 Improper construction methods implemented by contractor. Contractor 24 Delays in subcontractors work Contractor 25 Conflicts between contractor and other parties Contractor 26 Inadequate contractors work. Contractor 27 Frequent change of subcontractors due to their insufficient work. Contractor 28 Poor qualification of the contractors technical staff Contractor 29 Delay in site mobilization. Contractor 30 Delay in performing inspection and testing by consultant Consultant 31 Delay in approving major changes in the scope of work by consultant Consultant 32 Inflexibility (rigidity) of consultant Consultant 33 Poor communication and co-ordination by consultant with other parties Consultant 34 Late in reviewing and approving design documents by consultants Consultant 35 Conflicts between consultant and design engineer. Consultant 36 Inadequate experience of dsigner. Consultant 37 Mistakes and discrepancies in design documents Design 38 Delays in producing design documents Design 39 Unclear and inadequate details in drawings Design 40 Complexity of project design Design 41 Insufficient data collection and survey before design Design 42 Misunderstanding of ownerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s requirement by design engineer. Design 43 Inadequate design team experience Design 44 Un-use of advanced engineering design software. Design 45 Shortage of construction materials in market Material 46 Changes in material types and specification during construction Material 47 Detail in material delivery. Material 48 Damage of sorted material while they are needed urgently. Material 49 Delay in manufacturing special building material Material 50 Late procurement of materials Material 51 Late in selection of finishing materials due to availability of many types in market Material 52 Equipment breakdowns Equipment 53 Shortage of equipment Equipment 54 Low level of equipment-operatorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s skill Equipment 55 Low productivity and efficiency of equipment Equipment 56 Lack of high technology mechanical equipment Equipment 57 Shortage of labours Labours 58 Unqualified workforce Labours 59 Nationality of labours Labours 60 Low productivity level of labours Labours 61 Personal conflict among labours Labours 62 Effects of subsurface conditions External 63 Delay in obtaining permit from government External 64 Hot weather effects on construction activities External 65 Rain effect on construction activities External 66 Unavailability of utilities in site External 67 Effect of social and cultural factors External 68 Traffic control and restriction at job site External 69 Accident during construction External 70 Differing site conditions External 71 Changes in government regulations and laws External 72 Delay in providing services from utilities External 73 Delay in performing final inspection and certification by a third party External Table 2.1 Causes of delays as per group Assaf and Hejji (2006) Their work gave a broad view over construction delays and their causes. Though their classification is quite broad, but it gives a more insight to various causes. Odeh AM and Battaineh HT (2002) presented following 8 major groups of construction delay. Client related factors which include finance, payment of billed work, interference in work, slow decision making etc. Contractor related factors include site management, improper planning, insufficient experience, improper construction methods, insufficient and unskilled work force etc. Consultant related factors include contract management, improper drawings, approval of drawings, tests at site etc. Material related factors include availability, quality and shortage. Labor and equipment factors include supply, productivity, equipment availability, failure etc. Contract factors include changed orders and mistakes and disagreements in document. Contractual relationship factors includes, disputes, negotiation, improper management of information system, improper work breakdown structure and task responsibility matrix. External factors like act of god, strikes, accidents etc. Most of the work done in field of causes of delays reflects similar causes of delays and 8 major groups. They all gave recommendations related to these factors but very few scholars suggested to forecast delay in planning stage. Khalil and Ghaftly (1999) said delay is important issue. In order to manage it more properly and to mitigate them deep investigation to this area is needed. Having idea of frequency, extent and responsibility of delay can provide insights of early planning to control these factors and improve project performance. 2.5 PERSPECTIVE FROM DIFFERENT COUNTRIES Work from Chan and Kumaraswamy (2002) from Hong Kong industry gives four major causes of delay in Hong Kong industry which are as follows: Project scope Project complexity Project Environment Management related attributes The above four factors were studied with their constituent casual factors to gain more insight and understanding of their significance. They were summarized in following figure: Figure 2.3 Summary of principal factors affecting construction durations of projects He gave another table comparing factors causing delay in construction projects in various economies. It gives an overview of common factors in these economies. It gives a clear understanding of various countries at once. Factors Causing Delay Countries where survey was conducted US UK DEVELOPING COUNTRIES TURKEY NIGERIA SAUDI ARABIA HONG KONG INDONESIA Inclement weather * * * * * Labour shortage/ Low labour productivity * * * Poor subcontractorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s performance * * * * Variations (design change/ extra work) * * * * * Unforeseen ground conditions * * Materials shortage/ late material delivery * * * Inadequate construction planning * * * Financial difficulties * * * Delays in design work/Lack of design information * Poor site management * * * * Impractical design * Poor communication * * Inappropriate type of contract used * Lack of designerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s experience * Inaccurate estimating * * * Table 2.2 Source: Chan and Kumarswamy (2001) Ogunlana and Promkuntong studied and compared construction industry of Thailand and other economies. Study involved delays experienced in the High Rise Building construction projects in Bangkok, Thailand. According to them Resource supply problem were most acute problems of the construction industry in boom years. Project suffered delays due to inadequate supply of cement, technical personnel were overstretched, and demands from owners to do frequent changes etc. are the major causes for delay in developing economy. Sabasivan and Soon (2007) conducted study of causes of delay in Malaysian construction industry. They conducted a survey and 150 participants were involved. They came up with 10 most important causes of delay which are as follows: Improper planning of contractor. Poor site management from contractor Inadequate experience of contractor Improper payments and finance from client Subcontractors problem Material shortage Labour supply Failure and availability of equipment Improper management information system Mistakes during construction stage. COUNTRY RESEARCHERS MAJOR CAUSES OF DELAYS Saudi Arabia Assaf et al Slow preparation and approval of shop drawings Delays in payments to contractors Changes in design/design error Shortages of labour supply Poor workmanship Lebanon Mezher et al Owner had more concerns with regard to financial issues Contractors regarded contractual relationships the most important Consultants considered project management issues to be the most important causes of delay Saudi Arabia Al-khal and Al-Ghafly Cash flow problems/financial difficulties Difficulties in obtaining permits à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“lowest bid win firstà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? system Jordan Al-Moumani Poor design Changes in orders/design Weather Unforeseen site condition Late deliveries Kuwait Koushki et al Changing orders Owners financial constraints Ownerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s lack of experience in the construction business UAE Faridi and El-Sayegh Slow preparation and approval of drawings Inadequate early planning of project Slow decision making of owners Shortage of manpower Poor site management and supervision Low productivity of manpower Saudi Arabia Assaf and Al-Hejji Change in orders by the owner during construction Delay in progress payment Ineffective planning and scheduling Shortage of labour Difficulties in financing on the part of contractor. Hong Kong Chan and Kumaraswamy Project scope Project complexity Project environment Management related attributes Florida Ahmed and Azhar Design related Construction related Financial/economical Management/ Administrative Code related Acts of God Table 2.3 Summary of previous studies of the causes of delay in construction project some data from above table is taken from Sweis et al (2008) 2.6 SUMMARY: A total of 73 factors and 8 major groups of causes of construction delays were identified through intensive literature reviews in order to consider maximum factors. These factors will be helpful in data analysis so as to forecast delay at planning stage and treat it as risk so that risk management methodologies can be implemented to delay so as to mitigate and minimizing it. These eight major categories can be brought down as shown in figure. Fig 2.4 Classification of delay groups. All major 8 groups can be brought down to 2 major groups which are Internal and external causes. Internal is further subdivided in owner, consultant, contractor and resources. Resources are further subdivided in Material, equipment and labour. Overall if we need to classify groups for the causes of delay 5 major groups covers all 73 factors they are Owner, Contractor, Consultant, Resources and External. These causes and classification will help us to rank and treat delay as a risk at planning stage so as remedial measures can be applied. Though in spite of all studies and delay causes know till now it is hard to forecast delay because its very unpredictable, we cant analyse frequency of delay due to some reason in a project. Sometimes external causes are so dominating that co-ordination of internal groups get disturbed and project faces delay.

A Person Who Has Succeeded In Life Essay

It is lunch hour. A large restaurant located in the heart of Kuala Lumpur city is packed with regular customers. Waiters and waitresses are busy serving the customers. Outside the restaurant, the owner of the restaurant is seen arriving in a luxury car. After parking his car, he enters the restaurant and starts mingling with the customers. The humble man is none other than my beloved grandfather. My grandfather is a man of little education. He comes from a poor family. After attending primary school, he had to stop schooling due to poverty. As the eldest son of the family, he helped his father at his stall selling barbecued meats. Life was indeed difficult for him then. He had to get up early in the morning before dawn and go to the market together with his father to buy fresh chickens and ducks. Then, they returned home to slaughter them, prepare the meats and barbecue them. My grandfather was extremely interested in culinary skills. As a teenager, he was a fast learner and was able to prepare the meats as well as his father before long. One morning, my grandfather woke up early in the morning as usual. He assumed that everything would go on smoothly but little did he know that he had lost his father. When he went to wake his father up, there was no response from him. My grandfather panicked and called for an ambulance. When his father was sent to hospital, he was pronounced dead on arrival by a doctor. My grandfather was totally devastated by the sudden demise of his father. In the midst of his sadness, he knew he had to find strength to carry on. To earn a living, he had no alternative but to take over the stall that his father left behind. Using the small savings that he inherited from his father, he continued with the business. He learnt about finance from his own experience and whatever he could recall when he was with his father. He led a frugal lifestyle and only spent money when it was necessary. He was so thrifty that when he got married a few years later, his guests were only treated to rice and barbecued meats. He was industrious and saved as much money as he could. He kept his savings in a bank. After a couple of years, his diligence and modesty finally paid off – he had saved enough money to open a restaurant. Thanks to his excellent management skills that he acquired earlier, his restaurant prospered and his business expanded. Apart from selling barbecued meats, he also sold other food such as chicken rice, economical meals, dim sum and a variety of noodles. Today, my grandfather is an extremely successful and well-established restaurateur. He often advises me to study hard and be a knowledgeable person in order to contribute to society in future. He also emphasises the virtues of diligence, frugality and honesty. I will not forget his advices for as long as I live because he is my role model. A Person Who Has Succeeded In Life Essay It is lunch hour. A large restaurant located in the heart of Kuala Lumpur city is packed with regular customers. Waiters and waitresses are busy serving the customers. Outside the restaurant, the owner of the restaurant is seen arriving in a luxury car. After parking his car, he enters the restaurant and starts mingling with the customers. The humble man is none other than my beloved grandfather. My grandfather is a man of little education. He comes from a poor family. After attending primary school, he had to stop schooling due to poverty. As the eldest son of the family, he helped his father at his stall selling barbecued meats. Life was indeed difficult for him then. He had to get up early in the morning before dawn and go to the market together with his father to buy fresh chickens and ducks. Then, they returned home to slaughter them, prepare the meats and barbecue them. My grandfather was extremely interested in culinary skills. As a teenager, he was a fast learner and was able to prepare the meats as well as his father before long. One morning, my grandfather woke up early in the morning as usual. He assumed that everything would go on smoothly but little did he know that he had lost his father. When he went to wake his father up, there was no response from him. My grandfather panicked and called for an ambulance. When his father was sent to hospital, he was pronounced dead on arrival by a doctor. My grandfather was totally devastated by the sudden demise of his father. In the midst of his sadness, he knew he had to find strength to carry on. To earn a living, he had no alternative but to take over the stall that his father left behind. Using the small savings that he inherited from his father, he continued with the business. He learnt about finance from his own experience and whatever he could recall when he was with his father. He led a frugal lifestyle and only spent money when it was necessary. He was so thrifty that when he got married a few years later, his guests were only treated to rice and barbecued meats. He was industrious and saved as much money as he could. He kept his savings in a bank. After a couple of years, his diligence and modesty finally paid off – he had saved enough money to open a restaurant. Thanks to his excellent management skills that he acquired earlier, his restaurant prospered and his business expanded. Apart from selling barbecued meats, he also sold other food such as chicken rice, economical meals, dim sum and a variety of noodles. Today, my grandfather is an extremely successful and well-established restaurateur. He often advises me to study hard and be a knowledgeable person in order to contribute to society in future. He also emphasises the virtues of diligence, frugality and honesty. I will not forget his advices for as long as I live because he is my role model.

Othello and Frankenstein Essay - 1929 Words

From Man to Monster When monsters are thought of a very distinct picture comes to mind. An ugly creature that is out for blood, born into a life where causing misery is his driving force. Do these features really define what a monster is; works of literature like Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Shakespeare’s Othello tell quite a different story. Monsters are not born but made just as people are not born evil but can sometimes end up there. Othello and the Monster start of as good men looking to be part of society but were pushed out because of what others perceived them to be. This caused them to mentally and physically isolate themselves from everyone allowing hatred to take over. Iago and Frankenstein also helped to instill thoughts†¦show more content†¦Since Othello is being manipulated he finds it hard to be around any one causing him to separate himself from his loved ones and colleagues. When asking to speak with Desdemona to question her on her infideli ty he tells her, â€Å"Get you to bed on th’ instant. I will be returned/ forth with. Dismiss your attendant there. Look’t be/ done.† (Shakespeare IV, iii, 7-9). He is uncomfortable talking to her in the presence of Emilia, almost like an outsider being involved would confuse him further. His separation from all other characters other than Iago keeps him from knowing the truth. This causes his mind to run wild and come up with reasons that justify him in his monstrous actions that have become more frequent. However, in comparison the Monsters physical isolation causes him to mentally isolate himself. After being abandon by Frankenstein the Monster is forced to live on his own in the woods. Realizing that human kind will never truly accept him he asks Victor to create him a mate stating, â€Å"I am alone and miserable man will not associate with me† (Shelley, 118). When Victor ultimately denies the Monster of companionship he becomes enraged again continui ng to lose his faith in mankind. The Monsters physical segregation fuels his mental isolation whole Othello’s mental isolation fuels his physical segregation. Othello and the Monster are also mentally isolated in very different ways. Othello’s mental isolation is driven by Iago’s manipulation.Show MoreRelatedThe Evil Of The Monster By Mary Shelley s Frankenstein1048 Words   |  5 PagesShelley’s Frankenstein, the monster commits a number of immoral acts out of rage. These actions are directly related to the monsters creation and upbringing. The burden of fault for the monsters actions rests on Victor Frankenstein’s shoulders alone. The lack of attention Frankenstein contributed towards the monster, and his life teaching, is directly correlated with the actions the creature made throughout his existence. Although the creature physically caused the murders, Victor Frankenstein instigatedRead MoreEssay Prompts4057 Words   |  17 PagesAP ENGLISH LIT AND COMP FREE RESPONSE QUESTIONS 2004 (Form A): Critic Roland Barthes has said, â€Å"Literature is the question minus the answer.† Choose a novel or play and, considering Barthes’ Observation, write an essay in which you analyze a central question the work raises and the extent to which it offers any answers. Explain how the author’s treatment of this question affects your understanding of the work as a whole. Avoid mere plot summary. You may select a work from the list below or anotherRead MoreAmerican Literature11652 Words   |  47 Pagesattitudes emergence of ethnic writers and women writers Style: ï‚ · ï‚ · ï‚ · ï‚ · ï‚ · ï‚ · ï‚ · narratives: both fiction and nonfiction anti-heroes concern with connections between people emotion-provoking humorous irony storytelling emphasized autobiographical essays Effect: ï‚ · too soon to tell Historical Context: ï‚ · ï‚ · people beginning a new century and a new millennium media culture interprets values Analyzing Poetry: Poetry Tips Analyzing Poetry What is poetry? How is it analyzed? What are